King Princess covers The Strokes’ ‘You Only Live Once’ with Julian Casablancas

King Princess brought out Julian Casablancas to cover a Strokes classic at her New York gig this week – see footage below.

  • READ MORE: King Princess – ‘Hold On Baby’ review: introspective slow-burners that could go further

Mikaela Straus headlined the legendary Radio City Music Hall in her hometown on Monday (October 3) in support of new album ‘Hold On Baby’, and welcomed a special guest to the stage.

“We’re in New York, huh? We’re in my hometown,” King Princess told the crowd during the show. “So maybe it’s only fitting that we play a song by the Strokes.

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“I mean, I don’t know. I don’t know,” she added. “I don’t know who’s gonna come out here, but… Julian called in sick!”

Casablancas proved not sick at all, joining Straus on stage to play the 2006 hit – check out the performance below.

King Princess’ 2022 headline tour continues tonight (October 5) in Boston at the Roadrunner venue, running through until November 5 in Austin, Texas.

The dates were rescheduled from earlier this year due to the death of the singer’s grandmother. She explained in a statement at the time: “Recently, I got word that my grandmother was going to be receiving in-home hospice care as she approached the end of her life.

“The amount of love I have for this woman, there was no decision to be made – I had to go to upstate NY and be with her during her final time on this earth. That decision, coupled with other unforeseen challenges across the touring landscape, has ultimately forced me to move Leg 1 of the Hold On Baby Tour. I am so sorry for any inconvenience this has caused for anyone.”

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See the remaining dates below and buy tickets here.

OCTOBER 2022
5 – Boston, Roadrunner
6 – Portland, State Theatre
8 – Toronto, History
9 – Detroit, The Fillmore
11 – Pittsburgh, Stage AE
12 – Cleveland, Agora Theatre
14 – Madison, The Sylvee
15 – St. Paul, Palace Theatre
17 – Denver, Mission Ballroom
18 – Salt Lake City, Union Event Centre
20 – Seattle, Showbox SoDo
21 – Vancouver, Commodore Ballroom
22 – Portland, Roseland Theatre
24 – San Francisco, The Warfield
26 – Los Angeles, The Theatre At Ace Hotel
27 – Los Angeles, The Theatre At Ace Hotel
30 – San Diego, SOMA
31 – Phoenix, Van Buren

NOVEMBER 2022
2 – Dallas, House Of Blues
3 – Houston, House Of Blues
5 – Austin, Emo’s

Elsewhere, King Princess recently spoke about the “transformative experience” of working with the late Taylor Hawkins on her new track ‘Let Us Die’.

Discussing how she got in contact with the Foo Fighters drummer via producer and collaborator Mark Ronson, Straus said: “I was like, ‘Do you think that you could get Taylor Hawkins to play on my song?’ He’s like, ‘Mikaela, don’t even worry about it’.” Hawkins accepted the offer to collaborate, hailing ‘Let Us Die’ as “a great song”.

King Princess went on: “So he was recording it at their studio and I was in Brooklyn and we were feeding it through the console. So pretty trippy too to be in my childhood home studio, listening to this guy play on my dad’s speakers. And my dad [was] sitting there watching. I can’t even describe it. I was so emotional. It was crazy.

“He took as long as he needed and he did it, and he was so kind and so gracious,” she added. “He was like, ‘I’m just so thankful. I just love this song and I just love playing’. He was just saying he loves playing drums. And to hear that from somebody who’s lived such a life that, at his age and playing for as long as he has in so many different bands and his own projects, for him to just love to play the fucking drums, that to me is just what we should all strive to be. Somebody who does not lose that love of their instrument.”