The Strokes guitarist Nick Valensi joined Jack White on stage as a “special guest” guitarist at the Hollywood Palladium last night (September 28) – watch footage below.
White was playing the first of two consecutive nights at the Los Angeles venue as part of his ongoing 2026 North American tour when Valensi made the surprise appearance.
Footage from the show sees the Strokes guitarist playing alongside White and his touring band, with White later sharing clips of the collaboration and billing Valensi as a “special guest” guitarist.
Check out footage below:
There is plenty of history between White and The Strokes. Back in 2002, White joined the New York band to play the guitar solo on ‘New York City Cops’ during their headline set at Reading Festival, having previously made the same guest appearance with them in New York.
That year, White also revealed to NME that The White Stripes and The Strokes had discussed releasing a split seven-inch single, although the proposed release never materialised.
Valensi’s appearance with White is particularly notable as he is currently taking time away from performing live with The Strokes.
In May, the band announced that the guitarist would be taking a “temporary break” from their 2026 world tour, without giving a reason.
“Nick will be taking a temporary break from the scheduled tour, but we look forward to his return,” they said at the time.
Longwave guitarist Steve Schiltz, an old friend of the band from their early days in New York, has been filling in during Valensi’s absence.
The following month, Julian Casablancas reassured fans that Valensi would “be back soon”, although no date for his return has been announced.
Valensi has remained absent from The Strokes’ recent North American shows, including their performances in support of seventh album ‘Reality Awaits’. The record arrived in July and received four stars from NME, which praised the band for sounding “more alive and locked in than they have in years”.
The Strokes will bring the ‘Reality Awaits’ tour to the UK and Europe next week for their first full run of UK and Ireland headline dates in more than 20 years. Fat White Family and Alex Cameron are due to support across the run. Find any remaining tickets here.
White, meanwhile, released his seventh solo album ‘Frozen Charlotte’ in July and has been joined by a number of guests during his recent live dates.
Earlier this summer, The Black Crowes’ Chris Robinson joined him in Chicago for a cover of Free’s ‘I’m A Mover’, while White’s daughter Scarlett joined him on bass for three songs in Brooklyn.
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