Jack White brings raw rock to İstanbul at ParkOrman - tickets for Babylon Soundgarden and his new era

Jack White brings raw rock to the woodland setting of ParkOrman in İstanbul

Jack White arrives in İstanbul as one of the main names on the second day of the Babylon Soundgarden festival, at a time when his concert repertoire is a particularly interesting blend of the present and his own history. The new album "Frozen Charlotte" has just been released, but White is not building the shows on his current tour solely around new songs. At recent concerts, he has also been returning to material by The White Stripes, The Raconteurs and earlier solo releases, so the same performance can move from the new "Dollar Bill" to "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground", "Steady, as She Goes", "Lazaretto" and "Seven Nation Army".

The concert is part of the two-day Babylon Soundgarden at Bonus Parkorman. The second day brings together Jack White, Wet Leg, The Kills, Radio Free Alice and Miskinler, giving the entire programme a pronounced alternative, indie, post-punk and guitar-driven character. For a visitor travelling specifically because of White, it is important to know that this is not an isolated standalone concert, but a festival day with several performers and a longer stay outdoors.

It is worth securing tickets in time.

Why Jack White's current phase is particularly interesting live

For more than two decades, White has been building a distinctive concert language based on blues, garage rock, punk energy and a highly physical approach to the guitar. At the same time, his repertoire is not confined to a single phase of his career. Audiences still strongly associate him with The White Stripes, but the concerts also include songs by The Raconteurs, solo work and newer material created with the band he is currently performing with.

"Frozen Charlotte", his seventh solo studio album, was released on July 10, 2026 and contains 13 songs. It was recorded at Third Man Studio in Nashville, with Patrick Keeler on drums, Dominic Davis on bass and Bobby Emmett on keyboards working alongside White. This particular lineup is important for understanding the current live form: the album was created after a period of intensive playing together, and the songs are built around a tight rhythm, rough guitar textures and blues foundations.

Titles such as "G.O.D. And The Broken Ribs", "Derecho Demonico", "Dollar Bill", "Thick As Thieves" and "Neighbors Blues" show how strongly the new album is focused on riffs, tension and the sound of the band. Reviews of the album have particularly highlighted its harder, more immediate side and its connection with the energy of the previous album "No Name". This matters for audiences who may know White primarily from the hits of the early 2000s: the current concert is not merely a retrospective, but a performance by an artist who in 2026 has completely new material and an active international tour.

What recent performances say about the repertoire

The best indicator of what the audience can expect is not an imagined setlist, but what White was actually performing immediately before arriving in İstanbul. At the concert at Pine Knob Music Theatre in Michigan on July 25, he performed songs from the new album, including "Dollar Bill", "G.O.D. and the Broken Ribs", "Thick as Thieves", "Derecho Demonico" and "Raising the Grain". The same performance also featured "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground", "Hotel Yorba", "Icky Thump", "Fell in Love With a Girl" and "Seven Nation Army" from The White Stripes catalogue, "Steady, as She Goes" and "Carolina Drama" associated with The Raconteurs, as well as solo songs such as "Lazaretto".

That does not mean İstanbul will get the same running order or the same selection. White is known for changing setlists and concerts that leave room for spontaneity, while a festival format may have different time constraints from a standalone indoor evening. Nevertheless, recent performances clearly show a pattern: the new release does not push the older catalogue aside, but stands alongside it.

For long-time fans, the possibility of hearing several periods of his career in a single performance is therefore appealing. For the wider rock audience, an important fact is that White does not treat his best-known songs as a separate nostalgic addition. On stage, he fits them into the same raw sonic framework as the newer material. It is precisely this transition between a familiar riff and new, still-fresh material that makes this tour interesting even for people who have not followed every one of his solo releases.

The audience this concert will suit best

This is a particularly attractive choice for listeners who enjoy garage rock, blues-rock, alternative rock and concert energy in which the guitar remains at the forefront. Fans of The White Stripes will get a context broader than a single band, while followers of the newer albums will be able to hear how "No Name" and "Frozen Charlotte" fit alongside songs more than two decades old.

The second day of Babylon Soundgarden further broadens the audience profile. Wet Leg brings a contemporary indie and post-punk sensibility, The Kills a harder and more minimalist rock tension, and Radio Free Alice a younger post-punk energy. Such a lineup means the day is not built around a single sound, but it has a very clear guitar identity. A visitor who arrives early can get a much broader picture of the current alternative scene before White's performance.

Ticket sales for this event are under way.

ParkOrman changes the feel of the concert

Bonus Parkorman is located in Maslak, in the Sarıyer district, in the green area of the Fatih Forest. Unlike an enclosed arena, this is an open-air festival venue where the stage, audience, daylight and evening part of the programme are connected with the natural surroundings. ParkOrman's main event area covers 6,782 square metres and, in a concert configuration, can accommodate up to 10,000 standing visitors.

That does not mean every festival uses the space in exactly the same way. The position of the stage, entrance corridors, food and beverage zones and other facilities depends on the specific production. Nevertheless, the size of the main area itself explains why ParkOrman can host a programme with several performers and a large audience without the feeling of a traditional enclosed venue.

For White's music, such a setting creates an interesting dramaturgy. His songs often rely on the direct impact of the drums, a bass that maintains tension and a guitar that deliberately remains rough. Outdoors there is not the same physical enclosure as in a club, but a festival crowd and the space in front of a large stage can emphasise choruses that depend on a collective audience response. It is particularly easy to imagine how songs that regularly turn into collective singalongs at his recent performances can work - without any need to assume in advance which of them will be the closing song.

Babylon Soundgarden is not merely a backdrop for Jack White

The festival lasts two days, and for August 23 the organisers have announced Jack White alongside Wet Leg, The Kills, Radio Free Alice and Miskinler. The gates open at 15:00. At the time of this announcement, the precise performance schedule for each artist had not been published, so it is not advisable to plan arrival around an assumed time for White to take the stage.

This is particularly important for travellers staying in another part of İstanbul. Maslak and Sarıyer are on the European side of the city, farther north than the tourist areas around Sultanahmet, Karaköy and Taksim.

Getting there and practical information

• Location: Bonus Parkorman, Maslak Mahallesi, Büyükdere Caddesi No: 263, Sarıyer, İstanbul.
• Metro: M2 Yenikapı - Hacıosman line to Darüşşafaka station, after which the venue is approximately a five-minute walk away.
• Bus and minibus: several bus routes stop at Fatih Park Forest, and minibuses are also available on the Beşiktaş - Sarıyer route.
• Car: ParkOrman states that there is a limited number of parking spaces and warns that vehicles are not permitted to enter the venue on event days.
• Gate opening: for Babylon Soundgarden, opening at 15:00 has been announced; the precise schedule of individual performances has not been provided.

For a traveller visiting İstanbul for the first time, a good strategy is to combine the concert day with districts on the same metro axis. The M2 connects much of the European side and passes through important areas of the city, so Maslak can be reached without changing trains from several central zones. After the concert, it is worth checking again the current public transport operating hours and any possible changes to traffic arrangements around ParkOrman.

The current tour places İstanbul between Asia and Western Europe

White's schedule shows how firmly İstanbul is integrated into the international part of the tour. Before Babylon Soundgarden, he has performances in Seoul, Shanghai and Almaty, while after İstanbul there are two nights at London's Eventim Apollo, followed by Bristol, Newcastle upon Tyne, Belfast and Dublin. İstanbul is therefore not an isolated stopover date, but a transition point between the Asian part of the schedule and a series of concerts in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

What Jack White looks like when the band hits full stride

A report from the large Pine Knob concert in late July describes the performance as an intense combination of new songs and material from several phases of White's career. Patrick Keeler, Dominic Davis and Bobby Emmett, the same core group that took part in "Frozen Charlotte", were particularly highlighted. White therefore does not appear as a solo performer merely reproducing studio arrangements, but as the leader of a band whose interaction carries a large part of the performance.

That is an important distinction for audience expectations. Songs such as "Dollar Bill" or "Derecho Demonico" have already entered the concert repertoire, while "Icky Thump", "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" and "Steady, as She Goes" are flexible enough to accommodate different arrangement emphases. In White's live approach, it is precisely this feeling that a song is not completely locked into its studio version that often creates the greatest tension.

Recent performances also confirm that there is no need to choose between the "old" and "new" Jack White. His current phase rests on the same foundations that made him recognisable - the blues phrase, the riff, a sudden change in dynamics and a powerful rhythm - but connects them with an album released only a few weeks before İstanbul.

What to include in your plan for the festival day

Because this is an outdoor venue and a programme lasting several hours, the visit is better planned as a festival day than as a brief trip to a single concert. Footwear that is comfortable for long periods of standing and walking is more important than in a numbered-seat venue, and arrival time should be tied to the gate opening and the performers you want to hear before White.

Do not rely on an unpublished schedule. If the goal is to see Wet Leg, The Kills or Radio Free Alice as well, arriving earlier reduces the risk of missing part of the programme because of city traffic, queues at the entrance or a longer walk from the transport stop. For the return journey after the festival programme ends, it is practical to have alternatives between the metro, taxis and other forms of transport planned in advance.

For a planned visit, it is worth securing tickets in time.

Jack White is not a nostalgic stop

The most interesting reason to go to this concert is not merely the possibility of hearing "Seven Nation Army" live, a song that long ago moved beyond the boundaries of the rock audience. More important is seeing how White today connects that catalogue with the new album and a band that has developed a very tight collective sound with him. "Frozen Charlotte" brings enough new material for the concert to have a clear present-day identity, while songs by The White Stripes and The Raconteurs give it a breadth that few rock artists can assemble from their own catalogue.

ParkOrman adds an open-air festival format to that, while Babylon Soundgarden builds the entire day around different faces of alternative and guitar music. For a visitor who wants more than one name on the poster, it is precisely the combination of White, Wet Leg, The Kills, Radio Free Alice and Miskinler that makes August 23 worth viewing as a complete festival programme rather than merely the date of one performer.

Sources:

• Babylon - Babylon Soundgarden programme, second-day performers and gate opening time.
• Jack White - international tour schedule and confirmation of the Babylon Soundgarden performance in İstanbul.
• Third Man Records - information about the album "Frozen Charlotte", its release date, track listing, studio and band members.
• Bonus Parkorman - information about the main event space, address, metro, bus access and parking.
• Pollstar - report from the Pine Knob performance and recent concert repertoire.
• Pitchfork - context for the album "Frozen Charlotte" and its musical direction.