# The Strokes Deliver Dynamic Saturday Night Live Performance Featuring Walton Goggins The New York rock icons showcased tracks from their latest album, Reality Awaits, on SNL. - **Source:** [Rolling Stone](https://www.rollingstone.com) - **Published:** 2026-11-08 - **Topic:** [entertainment](https://brifing.si/c/entertainment) - **Original article:** - **On Brifing:** https://brifing.si/s/fb7d1443-d12a-4dde-bae7-81f4b3b7ac2c ## Fifth SNL Musical Appearance New York rock band The Strokes returned to Saturday Night Live for their fifth musical guest appearance. Hosted by comedian Druski, the band performed two tracks from their seventh studio album, Reality Awaits. This appearance follows their previous SNL stint in 2020, which promoted their earlier record, The New Abnormal. ## Live Performance Highlights The band opened their set with the track Lonely in the Future. Later in the episode, they returned to perform Going Shopping. For this second song, actor Walton Goggins joined the group on stage playing bongo drums, reprising his role from the song's official music video released earlier this year. ## Creative Recording Process The album Reality Awaits was produced by Rick Rubin, with recording sessions beginning in 2022 in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Rubin described the unique experience of recording the band outdoors on a mountain top. Additional studio work for the nine-track record took place at Rubin’s Shangri-La and The Mansion facilities in California. ## Guitarist Absence Continues Longtime guitarist Nick Valensi remained absent from the stage during this performance. Valensi announced a temporary break from the band in May, with Steve Schiltz of Longwave currently filling in for tour dates. Despite his absence from the band, Valensi recently performed with Duran Duran during a show in Paris. ## Global Tour Trajectory The SNL appearance follows the North American and European legs of the Reality Awaits world tour. The band is scheduled to perform in Mexico and South America in the coming weeks, followed by an Australian tour in February. Upcoming U.S. dates include the Innings Festival and the Kilby Block Party. ## Music Video Homage The music video for Going Shopping, directed by Johann Rashid, pays tribute to Paul Simon’s 1986 video for You Can Call Me Al. Walton Goggins takes on the role originally performed by Chevy Chase in the classic clip. Goggins has publicly described his involvement with the band as a dream. ## Critical Reception Context The band’s latest album, Reality Awaits, arrived in July and marks their first full-length release in six years. Critics have praised the group's willingness to experiment on this record. Recent live reviews suggest the band currently feels more locked in and vital than they have in many years of performing. ## Future Show Programming Following this episode, SNL continues its season with upcoming musical guest Phoebe Bridgers, scheduled to perform on November 14. John Mulaney is set to host that specific broadcast. The Strokes remain focused on their ongoing international tour schedule, maintaining their momentum after the successful release of their latest studio project. ## Sources covering this story - [Rolling Stone — The Strokes Perform on Saturday Night Live](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/snl-watch-the-strokes-perform-lonely-future-going-shopping-1235654344/) - [NME — The Strokes Perform on SNL with Walton Goggins](https://www.nme.com/news/music/the-strokes-lonely-in-the-future-going-shopping-walton-goggins-snl-3975379?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-strokes-lonely-in-the-future-going-shopping-walton-goggins-snl) - [Pitchfork – News — The Strokes Perform New Tracks on Saturday Night Live](https://pitchfork.com/story/watch-the-strokes-play-lonely-in-the-future-and-going-shopping-on-snl/) - [Billboard — The Strokes Perform on SNL With Surprise Guest Walton Goggins](https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/the-strokes-snl-walton-goggins-cameo-performance-video-1236377034/) --- _Summary written by Brifing from the original reporting. Copyright in the original article belongs to its publisher; read the full piece at the link above._