What makes Jack White such a beloved and still mysterious artist is his ability to metamorphose himself and his talents across genres and audiences. He is as comfortable on a stool strumming with a string band on an American roots music classic as he is on “Saturday Night Live” playing his new song,” Connected By Love,” to a hyped-up audience like he did last month. Few performers at any age have the passion that Jack White has for music, or for preserving its authenticity. Perhaps that’s the reason the musician relishes taking his art to the people, as he did on Wednesday (May 30) at Woodrow Wilson High School in Washington DC.

Music along with munchies

It was a typical mid-week lunch break for students at Woodrow Wilson High, at least as far as the usual crowd gathered in the atrium knew. What they didn't know was that Jack White had made arrangements some time ago with the school principal, Kimberly Martin, to perform a free pop-up show, and this was the day. Even the teachers were not clued in on the secret musical mission.

Right about the time that students were biding their time before the lunch bell rang, Jack White and his band were setting up for their 45-minute set. The timing was perfect as the music started exactly at 11:45, the start of the noontime pause for socializing. “They were dancing and having quite a time,” Martin spoke of her students in too-perfect grammar.

Jack White himself sounded a call to the kids, and that definitely broke the ice, with Martin noting that they “rushed him.”

It wasn’t just the student body who was delighted to have this sonic cure for the “hump-day” doldrums, several faculty members sounded out on social media, and definitely knew the words to the featured selections from the Jack White archives as well as their students.

One jealous dad playfully shared a snippet of video and a would-be summary of the school highlight.

Time for more gigs

While the White Stripes’ indelible “Seven Nation Army” had to be a fixture for even the mini-set for the artist and his band, Jack White finished up a full set Wednesday night (May 30) at the second of his two shows at the Anthem on Wharf Street.

The venue has cultivated a strong clientele of major acts who make an effort to return to its stage and atmosphere frequently.

Even though White is out in vigorous support of his “Boarding House Reach” album, he still managed to work in some leisure with America's favorite pastime, at the game between the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles on Monday night (May 28). He got the full fan treatment himself, hearing “Seven Nation Army” blasting back to him from the speakers.

Jack White has made a point of keeping his audiences “in the moment” and connected with the music this tour, even collecting phones from fans at his Detroit homecoming show. He has had some captivating moments of his own, such as singing with his mother on stage.

Who knows the next high school, bridge club, or assisted living facility that might be blessed by a Jack White surprise show. One thing is for sure: he certainly beats a power nap and turkey sandwich any day. He will be performing June 1-3 at the Governors’ Ball Music Festival in New York.
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