Raconteurs' festival debut

27 April 2006

Raconteurs

JACK White and his new band, Raconteurs,will make their festival debut at the Wireless O2 event in Hyde Park in June.

They will play on the opening day, on the same bill as The Strokes, Belle and Sebastian, Carl Barat's Dirty Pretty Things and Super Furry Animals.

The Raconteurs - White on guitar, vocals and keyboards, Brendan Benson on similar, Jack Lawrence on bass and drummer Patrick Keeler - have found instant success with single, Steady As She Goes.

White (one half of the White Stripes) and old pal Benson wrote the song and were so pleased with it, they decided to form a band to play it. So they roped in two more mates and now they have an album, Broken Boy Soldiers, ready for release in May.

Now they play the second annual Wireless festival. Last year's event, sponsored by XFM, proved a huge hit. It offered all the best features of an open air festival without the worst - just hop on the Tube after work and chill out to some top bands, barely any queues in the drinks tents, and ditto for the loos. What could be better?

So far this year's line-up is: Wednesday, June 21- The Strokes,

Belle & Sebastian, The Raconteurs, Super Furry Animals, Dirty Pretty Things, Super Furry Animals. Gogol Bordello, Bob Mould, Guillemots and The Like.

Thursday, June 22 - David Gray, KT Tunstall, Violent Femmes, The B-52's, Missy Higgins, Fun Lovin' Criminals, Ray Lamontagne, John Cale, Robyn Hitchcock & the Minus 3, Micah P Hinson.

Friday, June 23 - Massive Attack, The Flaming Lips, Pharrell, Damian 'Jr. Gong' Marley, DJ Shadow, Gnarls Barkley, Terry Callier, Clor, Sway, Midlake, Get Cape. Wear Cape, Fly.

Saturday, June 24 - James Blunt, Zero 7, Eels, Nile Rogers & Chic, Beth Orton, Nizlopi, Killa Kela, The Boy Least Likely To, The Upper Room, The 88, Paolo Nutini.

Sunday, June 25 - Depeche Mode, Goldfrapp, Gang of Four, Mystery Jets, Thomas Dolby, The Dears and OK GO.

Ticket details on www.wirelessfestival.co.uk