Jack White has wrapped up a momentous week by announcing that that he was taking a break from live performances "for a long period of time." No word on just how long that stretch will be.
White was one of the headliners over the weekend at the Coachella Music Festival, receiving acclaim for his set, and will still be in the saddle to perform at the next weekend of the event, on April 18. He also announced that he would play five acoustic shows—reportedly the first five solely unplugged performances that he's ever undertaken—in the last five states of the union that he hasn't played.
Here's the statement from White:
"After many years of performing in a multitude of configurations, Jack is announcing that he will be taking a break from performing live for a long period of time," it read, before continuing to the acoustic tour announcement. "To cap off the Lazaretto world tour, and following his pair of headlining performances at Coachella, Jack will embark on a short acoustic tour of the only five states left in the U.S. that he has yet to play."
And no, no one's combed through White's extensive touring history to figure out which states he hasn't played yet...although we know that Minnesota and Iowa—states that have hosted The White Stripes if not White as a solo act—are not included. We imagine that Alaska and Hawaii residents, as well as some Northeastern citizens, might be in for a treat.
But back to the big news: What can we expect from the hiatus? Who knows. Many a rocker has announced a break from the road only to be back in less than 12 months, such as when the Foo Fighters declared such a break at the Global Citizen Festival during 2012. We're not going to panic yet. He's got plenty of good work to do at Third Man Records, anyhow.
UPDATE: A thread on The White Swirl (fan-powered, mind you) claims the final five shows will be in North and South Dakota, Wyoming, Alaska and Idaho.
