A large gathering at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens this Friday transformed a rock concert into an explicitly political event when U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders addressed the audience alongside performances by The Strokes, Beach House, TV on the Radio, and Fcukers.
Ocasio-Cortez opened the evening by praising The Strokes as “the greatest rock band of our generation,” declaring: “as we fight fascism and genocide, raise wages, and guarantee health care to everyone.” She later introduced Sanders, who joked about performing songs before thanking the band for its advocacy on economic justice, racism, and healthcare as a human right. Sanders urged attendees to vote in November and “stand up to authoritarianism.”
The event also featured a live broadcast of The Strokes’ frontman Julian Casablancas’ climate-focused podcast, “S.O.S. Earth Is a Mess,” alongside the presence of actor Mike Myers. Myers posted photos from the concert wearing a black T-shirt reading “FIGHT FASCISM” and shared the hashtag voteinnovember online while emphasizing his political engagement in both U.S. and Canadian contexts.
The venue, described by The Strokes as “one of the most culturally diverse neighborhoods in the world,” drew an estimated 40,000 fans who collectively amplified the message of anti-fascism and democratic participation.
