Charli XCX and The Strokes bring their albums to life on stage at Outside Lands

The Outside Lands festival in San Francisco produced an unexpected but symbolically charged collaboration on Saturday between two of the most talked about names of the year. Charli XCX joined The Strokes on stage during their headline set to perform "Take It or Leave It," the closing track of their 2001 debut album Is This It. The night before, Charli XCX had herself headlined the opening evening of the festival in Golden Gate Park, marking her Outside Lands debut in the process.

The guest appearance was steeped in a playful rivalry that has been connecting both artists for weeks. The new Strokes album Reality Awaits and Charli XCX's record Music, Fashion, Film both dropped on the exact same date, July 24. Frontman Julian Casablancas introduced the guest with the words "We've got a special little guest; a big guest. A superstar," before dropping to his knees and saying: "Congratulations, you have defeated us in the album sales. Your new queen of everything: Charli XCX." During the performance, Casablancas and Charli XCX traded vocal parts, with her shifting between a soft, whispery style and rawer tones before the two came together on the chorus. As she left the stage after a hug with guitarist Albert Hammond Jr., Casablancas wrapped things up with: "Charli Motherfucking XCX. Yup, she won. She won by a lot. She's a giant pop star, in our defense."

Charli XCX described the collaboration on X as "big bro little sis vibes." Beyond her appearance with The Strokes, she also popped up during a very different set that Saturday: she appeared via the big screens in a video message during a Djo performance while he played his song "Charlie's Garden." In the message she said: "Joe, it's Charli. I had no idea you'd written a song about me. That is, like, so sweet of you. I'm honored. Anyways, call me back after the show and we can talk about it."

That Saturday also included a planned pop up visit to record store Amoeba Music in San Francisco, where Charli XCX took questions from fans. The session was originally scheduled for Friday, just before her headline set, but was moved to Saturday following criticism. During the in store event, one fan fell ill but was reported to be okay.

For Dutch music fans, there is a direct reason to keep an eye on the upcoming schedules of the artists involved. The Strokes will play the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam on October 11 as part of a European tour, joined by Fat White Family and Alex Cameron. Charli XCX is keeping her Music, Fashion, Film Tour focused on North America for now, with dates from September through October in cities including Brooklyn, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.