Bbetween the sound of Jack White's bluesy rock riffs, the sound of wedding bells were heard last week, when he proposed and married his girlfriend on stage during a show in Detroit.
The proposal/ceremony took place on April 8 at the Masonic Temple in Detroit towards the end of the concert. It was an unexpected moment for their hometown fans and indeed for White's new wife Olivia Jean, whose band performed earlier in the evening. Jean is a singer on White's Third Man record label.
According to ABC television affiliate WXYZ, the proposal took place as White was performing the White Stripes’ 2001 single Hotel Yorba.
During the song, which saw Jean return to the stage to sing backing vocals, White cued his band to drop out of the performance, and have his assistant start filming the special moment.
“I’ve got a little question for you, Olivia Jean. Will you marry me?” White asked. Overcome with emotion, Jean agrees, and is carried off the stage by her new fiancee, as he then reads the Hotel Yorba lyric "Let's get married".
Minutes later, the night's encore plays out in the form of a wedding ceremony, for which White’s mother, Theresa Gillis, was in attendance. Jean’s father, who White took aside to ask if they had his blessing — “be honest!” - also came onto the stage mid-vows. Third Man Records co-founder Ben Swank was also there to serve as officiant, alongside the couple's two bassists as best man and maid of honour.
Although phones are usually zip-locked away in Yondr bags during Jack White gigs, one fan did manage to sneak theirs in and film the nuptials, which you can watch below.
Getting engaged and married marked the end of a very eventful day for White, who not only released the new solo album, Fear Of The Dawn, but also opened a game for the Detroit Tigers with a performance of the National Anthem at Comerica Park.
