[LIVE REPORT] Jack White at Fourvière: the story of rock keeps unfolding

Jack White is not, and has never been, a predictable artist. Those lucky enough to have seen him several times know it well: every concert is different. And that is not just a figure of speech. After two nights at the Olympia the previous week, themselves very different from one another, the Third Man Records boss’s appearance at Les Nuits de Fourvière offered yet another demonstration.

Live report – Jack White
📆 June 18, 2026
📌 Lyon – Théâtre antique de Fourvière
🎸 Les Nuits de Fourvière
⏱️ Start: 10:10 p.m. – End: 11:40 p.m.

For me, this was already a third encounter with Jack White. Probably the most stripped-down of the three. But also, in many ways, one of the most accomplished.

Treaks as opening act

Before Jack White arrived, the Fourvière audience got to discover Treaks. In power trio format, the band delivered a very effective set, somewhere between 1990s grunge and contemporary garage rock. The electronic sequences added an interesting colour without ever taking over from the guitars. A muscular opening act that perfectly prepared the ground for the rest of the evening.

Between two electric bursts, Treaks also showed they were an engaged band. An assumed militant dimension, omnipresent throughout the set. Perhaps even a little too much, since the songs speak well enough for themselves. As an old Maxwell House coffee advert once put it: “There is (sometimes) no need to add any more.”

Then the stage empties. Or so it seems. Because with Jack White, even the changeover is part of the show, and all eyes turn to the ballet of the technicians. Suits, hats, precise gestures. Here, the road crew is not kept in the shadows. It is part of the world imagined by the Detroit musician. Even a simple line-check takes on the air of a theatrical performance. The evening can truly begin.

At exactly 10:10 p.m., the lights go out

Having seen Jack White several times, what strikes you first tonight is how surprisingly bare the stage looks. Discreetly overlooking the whole scene, a statue watches over the concert. An enigmatic presence that refers directly to Frozen Charlotte, Jack White’s new album.

Three musicians accompany the master of ceremonies: Dominic Davis on bass, a loyal travelling companion for several years, Patrick Keeler on drums, known in particular for his work with the Raconteurs and The Greenhornes, and Bobby Emmett on keyboards. No artifice, few visual effects, no intrusive decor. On this tour, everything rests on the songs, the collective playing and an energy that will not let up for an hour and a half.

A musician on stage playing electric guitar under blue lighting, with smoke on stage. — A smiling Jack White at Les Nuits de Fourvière

From the very first songs, the audience is fully there. Lyon crowds have a reputation for being cold, but Lyon also invented the “Qui ne saute pas…” chant, so tonight people are going to jump. The “Oh yeah!” responses to Jack White ring out from the opening number. It must be said that the musician, often described as distant, is tonight entirely turned towards the audience. He looks for interaction, handclaps, call-and-response moments. If no two Jack White concerts are alike, tonight even his personality seems different.

As Mick Jagger once said on stage about Charlie Watts: “He speaks!” That is somewhat the case with Jack White, who quickly addresses the audience with a simple “How do you do?”. It may seem like a detail, but for him, it means a lot.

Musically, it was difficult to know what to expect given how different the previous French concerts had been. Sometimes White Stripes-oriented, sometimes blues-heavy, sometimes focused on his solo work. Tonight, the spotlight is clearly on his solo career, with generous nods to Raconteurs fans. Jack White is definitely not the kind of artist who goes out on a greatest hits tour.

A constantly evolving setlist

The opening with That’s How I’m Feeling immediately sets the tone. The sound is massive but never showy. Then Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground reminds everyone that the White Stripes are never far away. The Roman amphitheatre sings along while Jack White alternates between guitar work and glances toward the audience.

The show then moves effortlessly through the various stages of his career. Old Scratch Blues and It’s Rough on Rats (If You’re Asking) firmly anchor the performance in his current work, while the magnificent Dollar Bill, played on dobro, brings a breath of rural blues to Fourvière. A few minutes later, Love Interruption introduces a more restrained, highly elegant tension.

Fans of the Raconteurs are particularly well served tonight. Broken Boy Soldier, Carolina Drama and later Steady, as She Goes occupy a prominent place in the setlist. This is no coincidence. Of the three French concerts on this tour, this is probably the one that gives the greatest space to the band’s catalogue.

A band performing on stage under blue lights, featuring a guitarist, a drummer and a keyboard player.

Another surprise, I’m Slowly Turning Into You and That Black Bat Licorice remind us how much Jack White enjoys blurring the lines. Yet unlike some previous tours, these experiments now seem fully integrated into the songs themselves. They no longer seek to draw attention to him or create the image of a mad scientist endlessly searching for the perfect chord.

With G.O.D. and the Broken Ribs, Jack White plunges Fourvière into a darker, more threatening atmosphere. Then Derecho Demonico injects another electric shock into the proceedings. Two recent songs that perfectly illustrate the prominent place given to the new album within a setlist spanning more than twenty-five years of music.

The encore then allows the band to fully cut loose. Following an introduction of the musicians and a collective jam, Jack White launches into Lazaretto, Freedom at 21, The Union Forever and then a huge Ball and Biscuit, once again reminding everyone how deeply rooted his playing remains in the blues.

And then comes Seven Nation Army.

It can be difficult to measure the importance of a song when you’ve heard it hundreds of times in stadiums, bars or popular celebrations. Yet when it echoes beneath the two-thousand-year-old stones of the Roman theatre, one thing becomes obvious: this riff belongs to rock history. That history has often been written through a handful of instantly recognisable riffs. There was Satisfaction, Smoke on the Water, Highway to Hell. Seven Nation Army belongs in that very exclusive category of songs that transcend their creator and become part of the world’s musical heritage.

The Lyon crowd certainly understands. The seated audience and the pit alike take up the famous “Po po po po po po” chant in unison as the band pushes the intensity even higher. For a few minutes, Fourvière celebrates one of the great rock anthems of the 21st century.

The concert comes to an end at 11:40 p.m.

Never the same concert twice

Beyond the quality of the performance itself, one statistic perfectly sums up Jack White‘s current philosophy. Adding together the two Olympia concerts, one of which was already the subject of a live report on Blues Actu, and this Fourvière appearance, more than thirty different songs were played across just three French shows. A rarity at a time when many artists reproduce the exact same show night after night.

A guitarist on stage facing an enthusiastic crowd raising their arms under blue lighting and haze.

That is probably what makes every Jack White concert so precious. You never see the same Jack White twice. Twenty-five years after the birth of the White Stripes, Jack White continues to move forward, explore and surprise. All while having already left behind a riff that several generations will probably keep singing long after we are gone.

One final note: thanks to Jack White‘s team for making concert photos available to the public the very next morning. Pure class, right to the very end.