Jack White’s surprise set
Jack White delivered a surprise Coachella Weekend One set that critics are calling one of the year’s best, and he wasn’t even on the lineup two weeks earlier. (Consequence published a full setlist that included “That’s How I’m Feeling,” “Fell in Love With a Girl,” “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground,” “Old Scratch Blues,” and “G.O.D.”.) He also announced a 2026 North American tour starting in July. (Consequence.net: )
Jack White turned a last-minute Coachella booking into one of Weekend One’s biggest sets, playing Mojave on Saturday, April 11, after being added days earlier. (billboard.com) Coachella’s set times, posted April 6, placed White in the Mojave tent at 3 p.m. Pacific for a 45-minute Saturday slot. He had not been on the festival’s original 2026 lineup when tickets went on sale months earlier. (consequence.net) By Saturday night, reviews had framed the performance as a standout of the festival’s first weekend. Consequence wrote that White “set an early bar to beat” with a “blistering afternoon performance,” while the Los Angeles Times included his set among Day 2 highlights. (consequence.net) (latimes.com) The set worked like a compressed career survey. Published setlists show White mixing recent solo material with White Stripes staples, including “That’s How I’m Feeling,” “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground,” “Fell in Love With a Girl,” “Icky Thump,” “Ball and Biscuit,” “Steady, as She Goes,” and “Seven Nation Army.” (consequence.net) (setlist.fm) The timing was not accidental. In the week before Coachella, White released two surprise singles, appeared on “Saturday Night Live” with host Jack Black, and then landed on the festival schedule as a late add. (billboard.com) (consequence.net) He also used the moment to tee up a much larger run on the road. White announced a 35-date North American tour on April 9, with the first leg opening July 10 in Washington, District of Columbia, before stops in Brooklyn, Toronto, Boston, Indianapolis, and Chicago. (consequence.net) The tour is split into two North American legs around August and September dates in Europe and the United Kingdom. Consequence reported the North American run extends through November, with later stops including Las Vegas, Phoenix, Austin, Dallas, Nashville, Minneapolis, Charlotte, Miami, and Atlanta. (consequence.net) White has Coachella history, but this appearance landed differently. Billboard noted that he last played the festival as a headliner in 2015, and this time he arrived as an afternoon surprise in a slot Coachella has recently used for unannounced veteran acts. (billboard.com) The next question is whether Coachella repeats the booking for Weekend Two, April 17 through April 19. As of the latest set-time reports, outlets covering the festival said that had not been announced. (billboard.com)
