Jack White in Concert
One of the premier rock stars of the 21st century, Jack White isn't just one the most electrifying guitar players and skilled songwriters of our time, he's a one-man music industry whose influence permeates mainstream and underground rock alike. Born in Detroit, White was a professional upholsterer before his primitive blues-punk duo, The White Stripes, became key instigators of an early-2000s garage-rock explosion that turned them into international media darlings. Certainly, there was no denying the firecracker spark of breakthrough singles like "Fell in Love With a Girl" and "Hotel Yorba," though the duo's striking red-and-white attire and carefully cultivated mystique — with White and his ex-wife/drummer Meg playing up the myth that they were a brother-sister act — no doubt amplified the hysteria around them. By 2003's ‘Elephant,' The White Stripes had fully outgrown their indie roots, with the brontosaurus-sized stomp of "Seven Nation Army" — a soccer-stadium anthem for the ages — revealing a grander vision that White would pursue up to the duo's 2007 swan song, ‘Icky Thump.'
Liberated from The White Stripes' minimalist formation, White has indulged his every creative whim, forming satellite bands (power-pop revivalists The Raconteurs, heavy-blues bruisers The Dead Weather) and embarking on an eclectic solo career that's yielded the downhome serenades of 2012's ‘Blunderbuss' and the dazzling baroque ‘n' roll of 2014's ‘Lazaretto.' At the same time, he's nurtured his Third Man Records label into a multi-purpose operation based in his current home of Nashville, encompassing a record store, recording studio, music venue, and vinyl pressing plant that's been at the forefront of the medium's revival. However, for all his dedication to keeping bygone styles and formats alive, White bristles at being painted as an old-school purist. And to prove it, he loaded up his wildly experimental 2018 release, ‘Boarding House Reach,' with all sorts of modernist touches, like Pro Tools productions and hip-hop-style drum breaks. His current tour finds him adapting those studio-sculpted creations for the stage with the help of a four-piece backing band — and don't be surprised if you see this guitar god get behind the drum kit to give those beats some extra oomph.
