Jack White reunited the Raconteurs during his October 10 Nashville concert, bringing Brendan Benson, Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keeler together for the band's first performance since December 2019. The surprise encore happened at The Truth, White's hometown venue. Somewhere, a scratched 2006 CD case just sat up and demanded to know who had been touching the aux cord.
The reunited group played 'Steady, As She Goes,' 'Hands,' 'Level,' 'Broken Boy Soldier' and 'Carolina Drama.' White had teased a surprise on Instagram earlier in the week, which is how rock mythology works now: cryptic posts first, guitar cables second, everybody filming vertically by the chorus.
The Raconteurs formed in the mid-2000s and released their debut, 'Broken Boy Soldiers,' in 2006. The band gave White a collaborative outlet distinct from the White Stripes, pairing his sharp-edged guitar instincts with Benson's melodic songwriting and a rhythm section shared with the Greenhornes.
Their most recent studio album, 'Help Us Stranger,' arrived in 2019, followed by a live EP and documentary. The Nashville appearance did not come with an announced new album or full reunion tour. It was a live reunion, not a legally binding promise that everyone should begin budgeting for arena parking.
Third Man Records has separately announced a twentieth-anniversary 'Broken Boy Soldiers XX' vinyl edition featuring demos, outtakes and recordings from the band's earliest performances. The archival release gives the reunion a little more context, while still leaving future plans deliberately unresolved.
For fans, five songs were enough to reopen an era when garage rock briefly made every vintage jacket look like a strategic career choice. The Raconteurs are not officially back for good. But for one Nashville encore, the group proved that 'Steady, As She Goes' still knows exactly where to go.
Sources and image information
Pitchfork, Oct. 11, 2026: https://pitchfork.com/story/jack-white-reunites-the-raconteurs-at-nashville-show; Third Man Records: https://thirdmanrecords.com/
Photograph: Drew de F Fawkes from Guildford, United Kingdom; CC BY 2.0. Original file and rights record: Wikimedia Commons.
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