“You tell me, Professor, when you’re ready to go!” Conan O’Brien invites Jack White – and his wild custom Fenders – to swap solos on White Stripes and Eddie Cochran classics at the Newport Folk Festival
Though Conan O’Brien is widely recognized as one of America’s most decorated late-night talk show hosts, he’s also a seasoned electric guitar player.
To that end, O’Brien is as much a guitar performer as he is a successful chat show host, with a long history of incorporating the instrument into various comedy skits, live guitar shows with his A-list collaborators, and a handful of rather notable run-ins with some high-profile gear.
O’Brien took that sentiment to new heights over the weekend, when he performed a 13-song setlist at the legendary Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island over the weekend.
For the occasion, the television industry veteran clearly leafed through his phonebook of famous friends, and ended up sharing the stage with the likes of Nathaniel Rateliff, Brittany Howard, Langhorne Slim, and more.
Perhaps the most notable guest star, though, was Jack White, who joined O’Brien to cover The White Stripes and Eddie Cochran classics towards the end of the set.
I Can Tell We’re Gonna Be Friends, Jack White, Conan O’Brien, Dawes, Newport Folk 2024 – YouTube
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While O’Brien locked in with his Fender Stratocaster and Gibson SJ-200 for the two tracks, White brought some of his own eye-catching instruments to the party, taking up position behind what looked to be a black-finished version of his infamous Fender Low Rider Telecaster and a new custom Telecaster Acoustasonic.
The pair started on their respective acoustics to tackle We’re Going to Be Friends, before kicking things up a notch with a grizzled cover of Twenty Flight Rock, which O’Brien looked to White to kick off: “You tell me, Professor, when you’re ready to go!” he says by way of an introduction
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Now, White is no stranger to custom Acoustasonics – he debuted a Silverburst-style one at Glastonbury in 2022 – but the piece he used for Newport was different, and instead flashed an all-black finish.
A black finish could also be spotted on the latest iteration of his Low Rider Telecaster, which appeared to be as bonkers as ever, complete with three different pickups, a Bigsby vibrato, and all sorts of onboard controls.
Jack White and Conan O’Brien “Twenty Flight Rock†Live at Newport Folk Festival July 28, 2024 – YouTube
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Whether it’s quite as bonkers as the OG model – which has a half-scalloped fretboard and a B-Bender – remains to be seen. Regardless, White used it to typical White effect, supercharging Conan’s set with a suitably untethered solo and some swampy rhythms to boot.
O’Brien, who spends a lot of the time in the rhythm pocket, also indulges with some lead lines of his own, locking fretboards with both White and co-guitarist Jimmy Vivino for some show-stopping three-way soloing.
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