Nick Valensi Temporarily Steps Away from The Strokes Tour, Steve Schiltz Fills In

The Strokes have been playing a few shows in the lead-up to their new album Reality Awaits , and guitarist Nick Valensi has been noticeably absent from them. On Thursday, the band officially addressed this, writing on their Instagram stories, “Nick will be taking a temporary break from the scheduled tour, but we look forward to his return.”

They also noted that filling in for them is “our old friend Steve Schiltz , who many of you will remember from the early NY days.” Steve led Longwave , who formed in NYC around the same time as The Strokes and released four albums in the ’00s before calling it quits. Longwave got back together in 2018 and released If We Ever Live Forever the next year.

Meanwhile, The Strokes — with Schiltz in tow — were on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Thursday night, performing their new single “Falling Out of Love.” This will be one of the last ever Colbert live performances as the late night talk show is coming to an end on May 21. Watch that below.

Reality Awaits  is out June 26 ( preorder the vinyl & CD ) and The Strokes are on tour .

_Originally reported by [Brooklyn Vegan](https://www.brooklynvegan.com/nick-valensi-taking-a-temporary-break-from-touring-with-the-strokes-who-played-colbert/)._