The Raconteurs returned to the stage for the first time in nearly seven years, reuniting during the encore of Jack White's concert in Nashville. The surprise performance took place at The Truth, a new 4,400-capacity venue that opened in the city earlier this month, during the second of two consecutive nights White played there.
White was joined by fellow singer and guitarist Brendan Benson, bassist Jack Lawrence and drummer Patrick Keeler, who has also been playing in White's current solo touring band. The four-piece opened their reunion set with «Steady, As She Goes», their 2006 debut single, before moving through «Hands», «Level» and «Broken Boy Soldier». They closed with «Carolina Drama», the final track from their 2008 second album «Consolers Of The Lonely».
The reunion had been teased on social media before the show. White posted on Instagram encouraging Raconteurs fans in Nashville to buy tickets, hinting that «there just might be a little surprise». The venue, which opened earlier in October, hosted the two-night stand as part of White's ongoing touring schedule.
Earlier in the evening, White performed material spanning his career, including The White Stripes' «Icky Thump», «Black Math» and «Seven Nation Army», alongside solo tracks «Lazaretto», «Freedom At 21» and «That's How I'm Feeling».
The Raconteurs had last performed together on December 13, 2019, at The Republik in Honolulu, Hawaii, closing out an extensive touring year behind their third album «Help Us Stranger». That record, released in June 2019, was their first in 11 years, following «Broken Boy Soldiers» in 2006 and «Consolers Of The Lonely» in 2008. The band had previously made a live comeback at a celebration of Third Man Records' 10th anniversary in Nashville in April 2019, ending an eight-year absence from the stage. Their subsequent tour took them to venues and festivals around the world, including a Mexico City show where The Strokes' Julian Casablancas joined them for a cover of «The Modern Age».
«Help Us Stranger» received a four-star review that praised the interplay between White and Benson, describing the album as a «smooth and pleasurable drive» and concluding that it was a full-bodied journey the band should not take another decade to repeat.
White released his seventh solo album, «Frozen Charlotte», in July and has been touring throughout 2026. His recent shows have featured a number of special guests, including The Strokes' Nick Valensi, who joined him at the Hollywood Palladium last month. A three-and-a-half-star review of «Frozen Charlotte» noted that while it may not rank among his classic work, it is good fun and likely to be something live, showing that White does not need to reinvent the wheel when he can deliver a strong ride on his own.
The Nashville reunion adds another chapter to the long and intermittent history of The Raconteurs, a band whose members have pursued separate projects between their sporadic collaborations. For fans who have followed the group since its mid-2000s debut, the encore marked the first opportunity in nearly seven years to see the original lineup perform together.