The Strike - CRAZY TOUR STORIES

In this Crazy Tour Stories segment, the indie pop band, The Strike, shares one of their stories from being on the road. You can check out the story below:

Back in 2018 the band received an unexpected email from Quincy Jones’s management team. It was an offer to play a 3 month residency at his bar/lounge in Dubai called Q’s. Q’s is inside the Palazzo Versace, an incredibly decadent hotel near Old Dubai. At that time, I don’t think anyone in the band had ever stayed at anything nicer than a Marriott, and suddenly we found ourselves living in one of the nicest hotels in the world.

The gig was 3 hours a night, 5 nights a week. One evening we were playing our usual set on a slow weeknight. The club was pretty much empty save one or two people having dinner. The lounge was small and the entrance faced the stage so we could see everyone who walked in pretty clearly. Suddenly, Ludacris comes through the doors by himself. Everyone in the band turned to each other and made a face acknowledging that Ludacris is now in the room. He spent about 20-30 minutes trying out different cigars offered by the bar. About 45 minutes later his entire entourage showed up. They were having a good time and getting into the music. At the end of the show they all got in their Lamborghinis and sped off.

It was a very surreal experience. Like being in a rap music video taking place in real time. We never talked to Luda, and there is no chance that he has any memory of us. However, that night was a nice exclamation point on what was already a very interesting gig.

Keep up with The Strike on their website, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter.