Jack White to Headline Victorian Series at Venue That Launched His Biggest Hit

Jack White, the former frontman of the White Stripes, will return to the small yet legendary Australian music venue that gave rise to one of his biggest hits, Seven Nation Army, for a special one-off gig in December.

White, who surprised fans with a solo album release in July, will headline Victoria’s Always Live initiative. This 17-day program, now in its third year, will also feature performances by St Vincent, Róisín Murphy, the Offspring, and emerging electronica sensation Anyma.

White’s performance will take place at the 750-capacity Corner Hotel in Melbourne. It was here, during a White Stripes sound check in January 2002, that he spontaneously created the iconic seven-stroke guitar riff for what would become the band’s breakthrough hit, Seven Nation Army.

In the 2008 documentary “It Might Get Loud,” White reminisced about that career-defining moment. Speaking with guitarists Jimmy Page and the Edge, he recalled his friend Ben Swank’s lukewarm reaction to the riff at the time. Swank, who later co-founded Third Man Records with White, responded with an unenthusiastic “Nyeah, it’s all right.”

Undeterred, White kept at it. “It’s almost great when people say that because it makes you defensive and think, ‘No, there’s something to this. You don’t see it yet. It’s gonna get there. You gotta have some imagination,'” White said.

The riff eventually became the earworm of Seven Nation Army, the lead single from the White Stripes’ 2003 album, Elephant. The song topped Billboard’s Alternative chart and won the Grammy for best rock song. It also landed at No. 3 on Triple J’s Hottest 100 for 2003. The riff has since become a staple at sports events and music festivals worldwide, often chanted by enthusiastic crowds.

Always Live, whose 2024 program was unveiled on Wednesday, was conceived by the late Australian music mogul Michael Gudinski, founder of Mushroom Records and Frontier Touring. Aimed at revitalizing a live music industry heavily impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, the initiative is funded by the Victorian government. It has previously brought big names like Foo Fighters and Christina Aguilera to Australia.

The 2024 lineup will feature over 200 Australian artists, including Missy Higgins, Chet Faker, and Tina Arena, who will celebrate the 30th anniversary of her album “Don’t Ask.” The program will also see the return of the First Nations event Blaktivism, headlined by Baker Boy and featuring Uncle Bart Willoughby, Tasman Keith, and Yirrmal.

Out of the 65 Always Live events, more than a third will be held in regional Victoria. These include a touring all-ages event, a four-stop Victorian tour by Ripple Effect, an all-female band from the Aboriginal community Maningrida, and Boite Voices Maiem, a celebration of music from the Torres Strait Islands.

White will also perform in regional Victoria, with a show at Ballarat’s Civic Hall the night before his Corner Hotel gig. This will mark his first Australian appearance since his single-night performance at Adelaide’s Harvest Rock festival in 2022 and his first gig in Victoria since 2019, when he toured with his Grammy-winning Nashville band, The Saboteurs.

Source: The Guardian, The Independent