On a hot Saturday night in late July, Detroit native, contemporary guitar wizard, and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Jack White played Clarkston's legendary Pine Knob amphitheater for the first time ever in spite of his many years as a major label recording artist with a variety of bands, such as The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, and The Dead Weather, not to mention his varied solo work and collaborations. Already an occasion to celebrate, White seized the opportunity to bring along four additional Detroit artists, all of whom were also playing Pine Knob for the first time, creating a home-grown celebration that felt almost as much like a block party or family reunion as a standard rock concert.
Fans were encouraged by advertising to "come early and stay late" with offers of beer and hot dogs for two dollars during the first two hours of the show, during which Dory Detroit and Ty each played short opening sets on a second stage set up in the parking lot next to the venue (recalling the peak years of Ozzfest). The famous Third Man Rolling Record Store was also on hand to sell exclusive vinyl and show specific posters to those who arrived early enough to wait in a lengthy line to buy them. The action moved to the main stage where two other Detroit bands, Prostitute and Easy Action, each engaged the crowd with their brands of garage and indie rock, both a treat for locals who already knew and liked them and a unique opportunity to show the unfamiliar in the crowd who they are and what they do. Between each main stage act, a local DJ spun only Detroit-area artists (on turntables, not a phone or computer) including songs by Bob Seger, The MC5, Stooges, Eminem, Detroit Cobras, and more. The entire night was a celebration of the endless musical contributions and ongoing historical vibe of The Motor City. Everything about it was warm and inviting.
Finally, local legend Jack White and his ace backing band took the stage to the roars of a beyond-capacity crowd. Latecomers without pavilion seats were seen setting up chairs and blankets on the backside of the lawn hill, facing away from the stage, due to lack of space. After a raucous intro jam to ensure the crowd was aware the show had begun, White ripped through "That's How I'm Feeling," the biggest single from 2024's No Name, and proceeded to engage those on the lawn and encouraged all in attendance, left, right, and center, to use the brain God placed in their skulls without being more specifically political, at least at that moment, before launching into The White Stripes' classic, "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground." Unlike his earliest solo tours, White has now built up enough material from his own releases that he doesn't need to feature as many songs from his other bands any more than he wishes, allowing attention for tracks from more recent releases, such as "Dollar Bill" and "It's Rough on Rats," both fewer than two years old. An up-tempo singalong on The White Stripes' "Hotel Yorba" led into a rocking rendition of "Broken Boy Solider" by The Raconteurs, made even more authentic to the original recording as Raconteurs drummer Patrick Keeler has also been the drummer in White's solo band for the last two years. White's guitar heroics can't be understated as he alternates between leads and solos, clean tone to distortion, and strumming to slide work at will during any and every song.
An engaging performance of the new song, "G.O.D. and the Broken Ribs" brought attention back to White's latest album, Frozen Charlotte, but the show featured less music from that record than the then-new songs from No Name that were performed at White's previous Detroit concert, at the tightly packed Saint Andrew's Hall, in 2024. A sandwich medley followed, of The White Stripes' "Cannon" into No Name's Old Scratch Blues" and The Stripe's "The Union Forever," a song that included new/improvised lyrics that called out "AI, data centers, and whatever other fucking bullshit being pushed by Bezos and Musk" to a roar of approval from the audience. Later in the song, lyrics were changed to proudly declare "What would I like to have been? / Everything Trump hates!" to even louder cheers.
A brief and obscure cover of Rosetta Howard's "Delta Bound" led into an energetic run through The White Stripes' "Fell in Love with a Girl," after which White introduced the other members of his band, including Keeler, long time bassist Dominic Davis, and keyboardist Bobby Emmitt, who have been with him since the release of No Name in 2024, and each of whom had personalized LED signs switched on above their positions on stage for the remainder of the main set, which concluded with a slightly updated and more dynamic arrangement of The Raconteurs' "Steady, as She Goes," a highlight of most White shows since his solo career began in 2012.
Following an expected encore break during which some in the crowd began to chant the melody of "Seven Nation Army" far too early in the night, the band came back to the stage to begin a jam while an actor in costume as "Frozen Charlotte" the character danced across the stage, throwing play money into the front rows, and waving a cue card that read, "I still call it DTE Energy Music Theatre" before being booed by the band and the crowd, then comically chased off the stage by White as he returned to begin the final portion of the show. Originally opened in 1972 as Pine Knob Music Theatre, the venue's name changed due to local power company sponsorship from 2001 to 2022 before reverting to its original name, much to the delight of area concertgoers. The remaining songs continued to alternate between some of White's newer solo tracks and fan favorites from his earlier projects including especially spirited takes on "Icky Thump" and an absolute shredding through the riff-heavy "Little Bird" by The White Stripes and a surprising run through The Raconteurs' murder ballad deep cut "Carolina Drama," a song all White fans know and love but which has no real chorus or repeated lyrics with which the crowd can sing along.
New songs including "Thick as Thieves," "Derecho Demonico," and "Raising the Grain" were featured alongside White's 2013 solo hit, "Lazaretto," the only track performed from that album, and none at all were included from his third, fourth, or fifth solo releases nor were any tracks from his goth garage group The Dead Weather. After nearly two full hours of music that followed five other Detroit acts, White and his band drove it home with a predictable but nonetheless energetic "Seven Nation Army," which has now grown so large in pop culture that the audience chants the main riff melody throughout the entire song, even in Detroit. To say the night was full of musical magic sounds cliche and overstated, but there are certain performers who bring something unique to the stage, whether due to their personality, talent, unique perspectives and takes on various topics, or a combination of any or all of these elements. With due respect to Eminem, Jack White is the best and most significant rock and roll figure to emerge from Michigan's (and especially Detroit's) lengthy musical legacy in over 30 years, and any rock fan would be hard pressed to see one of his shows and walk away feeling otherwise. While Muir, Michigan's own Billy Strings is blasting off like a rocket to represent the next generation currently on its way up, Jack White's steady and consistent artistry, songwriting, and performance style continues to be unmatched among his peers both now and likely for decades to come.
*Watch a pro-shot webcast video (courtesy of Nugs' official live stream) of the full show here!
Jack White (7/25/26) set list:
Intro (jam)
That's How I'm Feeling
Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground (The White Stripes)
Sixteen Saltines
Dollar Bill
It's Rough on Rats
Hotel Yorba (The White Stripes)
Broken Boy Soldier (The Raconteurs)
G.O.D. and the Broken Ribs
Cannon (The White Stripes)
Old Scratch Blues
The Union Forever (The White Stripes)/Old Scratch Blues (cont.)
Delta Bound (Rosetta Howard)
Fell in Love with a Girl (The White Stripes)
Steady, as She Goes (The Raconteurs)
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Encore intro (jam)
Icky Thump (The White Stripes)
Thick as Thieves
Derecho Demonico
Carolina Drama (The Raconteurs)
Little Bird (The White Stripes)
Raising the Grain
Lazaretto
Seven Nation Army (The White Stripes)
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