The Strokes, the Grammy-winning band whose music dominated rock music in the early and mid-2000s (and likely still dominates your bad Hinge dates’ playlists), announced a world tour to pair with their forthcoming album, Reality Awaits. Strokers, as the band’s cult following calls itself, were disappointed when Texas was left off the map. The closest they’re coming is Manchester, Tennessee, for the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival — 725 miles, or a 10-and-a-half-hour drive away, if you contemplated it. But Different Strokes, a local Strokes cover band, is playing a much closer and much more affordable show at Granada Theater on Friday, May 8.

Different Strokes, comprised of Dallas musicians Cory Graves, Dev Wulf, Hunter Cannon, Eric Nichelson and Colin Beams, is breaking a two-year hiatus, returning to the stage ready to rip “Reptilia.” The band, which formed 10 years ago, was derailed by Graves’ frequent commitments to his full-time gig playing with the Vandoliers. But Graves left the cowpunk band earlier this year, meaning it was time to get the (cover) band back together. 

“I called all the guys back, and everyone was really excited,” Graves tells us. He says it took them little time to find a venue to host, but the timing of Granada adding them to the calendar was chismet.

“We booked this Granada show several months ago, and as soon as we posted, the Strokes announced a new album and tour, and we had no idea,” he says. “It’s just really good timing for us. There’s no dates anywhere around here, and all I see is people on [the Strokes] Facebook pages complaining.”

Hopeful Strokers prayed the band might be announced as a headliner for Austin City Limits, though they topped the bill in 2025. To the dismay of leather jacket-wearing Texans, though, the lineup released this week does not include Julian Casablancas and company (though it does include Dallas’ own Cure for Paranoia). This leaves Different Strokes as the best available option for anybody in the Southwestern United States who wants to feel the rush of those opening chords on “What Ever Happened” live.

Casablancas must have a really severe aversion to good barbecue and a wide-brimmed hat, because the Strokes haven’t played in Dallas since a show at the Globe Life Field in 2022. Before that, it had been two decades since their last show in the region at the now-demolished Bronco Bowl in Oak Cliff in 2002, when the band only had one album out. 

Plus, Different Strokes won’t play any of the deep cuts you don’t like, and all the ones you do. 

“Their fans are so culty and rabid that we do get a lot of requests for super obscure deep cuts,” Graves says. “You never get that with another band.”

They certainly won’t skip the 2000s radio hits that’ve been removed from the real Strokes arena tour setlist, either.

“This band already has a fan base, so you show up and everyone’s pleased to hear these things that they already love so much and just maybe don’t get to see all the time,” Graves says. “In the case of The Strokes, if you see [them], they’re going to play a stadium. You’re going to pay hundreds of dollars for a ticket. You’re not going to be able to stand front row with The Strokes probably, but you can come right up to the stage for us.”

Ahead of the show, the cover band has added the latest Strokes’ release to their repertoire, rehearsing Reality Awaits’ lead single, “Going Shopping,” last week in preparation. It was their first rehearsal in years, but the dust brushed away easily, and they’d already played a secret and surprise set at the Seegars Deli opening a week before, with zero preparation. 

“We played 50 people or something, just to kind of shake off the nerves,” Graves says. “We didn’t rehearse for that one. We all just showed up and expected each other to know the part. It was good reassurance that we still had it.”

Graves and other members of Different Strokes have had run-ins with real members of the Strokes band, smoking cigarettes with drummer Fabrizio “Fab” Moretti outside a show in Deep Ellum for his side project, Little Joy, in 2008, and chatting with lead guitarist Nicholas Valensi after his solo show at Trees in 2016. The latter Strokes member jokingly recommended the guys of Different Strokes buy wigs to really sell it.

And though cover bands get a bad rep, Graves, a seasoned, internationally touring musician who contributed to five Vandoliers albums, says they’re undeniably fun to play in. 

“Cover bands are kind of divisive. When musicians are young, they take themselves way too seriously,” he says. “You get to a certain point where you’re older, and you don’t care as much about the posturing. Cover bands are just really super fun. There’s no stress, there’s no pressure.”

Different Strokes will play at Granada Theater on May 8 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20. The band will only be playing music by The Strokes, but they will not be wearing wigs.

Trust remains a primary barrier to broader crypto adoption, according to representatives from the National Cryptocurrency Association, Circle, U.S. Bank and ChangeNOW at Consensus 2026 in Miami.

Ali Tager of the National Cryptocurrency Association said research shows “the number one barrier to non-crypto holders is they just do not get it,” citing complexity, jargon and misinformation as persistent challenges.

Panelists from Circle, U.S. Bank and ChangeNOW said trust is built gradually through user experience rather than technical claims. Britt Cambas of Circle said “you are not going to get technical trust in 30 seconds,” emphasizing clarity and reducing complexity as prerequisites for adoption.

Rachel Castro of U.S. Bank said trust is central to financial services and “very easily broken,” adding that rebuilding it takes significantly longer once lost.

Speakers highlighted customer support and human interaction as critical differentiators in crypto platforms. Pauline Shangett of ChangeNOW said “the primary factor of trust for me when it comes to a web3 project is a feeling that you are working with real people,” pointing to gaps in user support across the industry.

Cambas said reducing ambiguity in products and partnerships is key, noting that simplifying complex systems can drive adoption more effectively than new features.

Panelists also pointed to education as a necessary step for onboarding new users. Tager said the industry must “make it super simple, make it accessible, make it trustworthy” to reach mainstream audiences.

The discussion, moderated by Ashley Wright, focused on designing systems that prioritize transparency, usability and communication, with speakers agreeing that trust must be embedded across product design, customer engagement and regulatory frameworks rather than treated as a standalone feature.

At Langston Park in Sylvan Hills, a once-abandoned eight-acre skate park is being transformed into a new community.  

Over the course of a single week, over 700 volunteers are working alongside future homeowners to build 24 homes as part of a major Habitat for Humanity effort.

Habitat for Humanity hasn’t constructed a development in Atlanta since 1988.

For Chip Carter, the project carries both personal and global meaning. His parents, former President Jimmy Carter and first lady Rosalynn Carter, began their work with Habitat for Humanity in 1984, helping elevate the organization into a worldwide mission. Over the past 50 years, Habitat says it has helped more than 65 million people access new or improved housing.

Homes are sold without interest and built largely through volunteer labor, helping keep costs within reach. That matters in a city like Atlanta, where housing affordability has become increasingly strained. According to JPMorgan Chase, the share of median income needed for a monthly mortgage in the city jumped from 25 percent to 41 percent in just five years.

Habitat homes aren’t giveaways. Applicants go through years of screening, including financial reviews, background checks, and proof of steady employment and income. They also complete more than 250 hours of training to prepare for the responsibilities of homeownership.

“This is a much bigger deal,” Carter said. “To have a place to sleep is a big deal. And not having to pay rent — when you put money into it, you get to build equity.”

For Langston Park’s future homeowners like Lauren Clarke, that path to ownership is anything but automatic. Clarke, a University of Georgia graduate and single mother of twin 5-year-olds, has been living with her parents while searching for stable housing.  

As she helped to hammer nails into the wall siding, Clarke professed, “It makes me feel strong. I feel strong today.”

For her, the opportunity represents more than just a roof over her family’s heads.  

“When you buy a house, it gives you a sense of pride — in the best way,” she said. “Maybe we can keep that going generation to generation.”

Sixty-eight families are expected to begin moving into the homes by the end of the summer, and there are plans to expand the development in the next few years.