On Wednesday, August 13, Forest Hills Stadium in Queens felt supercharged from the start. Gary Clark Jr., on tour to support his 2024 release JPEG RAW, took the stage with his tight-knit band—King Zapata (rhythm guitar), Elijah Ford (keys and bass), and JJ Johnson (drums)—to open for The Black Keys as a light drizzle cleared just at showtime.

Clark, Jr. opened with the smoldering groove of “Maktub” (which means fate or destiny in Arabic), the lead track from JPEG RAW, and then shifted gears into the swagger of “Ain’t Messin’ ‘Round” from his 2014 Live album, his voice cutting through the humid summer air. Then came “When My Train Pulls In,” the blues-rock epic from Blak and Blu (2012), building to a soaring solo that finished with his guitar raised overhead.

It should have been the set’s midpoint. Instead, it was the finale. As applause still echoed, the venue announced a shelter-in-place order—lightning had been spotted in the area. Thousands of fans funneled into the concourse under the seating bowl, where the smell of rain mixed with stadium beer and the low rumble of thunder overhead. For nearly an hour, the storm raged—sheets of rain, flashes of light, and deep, rolling cracks of thunder.

When gates reopened, there was only time for an abbreviated Black Keys set. Clark, whose performance had felt like it was just hitting its stride, never returned to the stage.

It was a short, potent dose of what Clark does best, blues, soul, and rock woven together with technical precision and unrestrained feeling. The Forest Hills show follow recent stops at The Stone Pony Summer Stage in Asbury Park (July 5) and the Saratoga Jazz Festival (June 28), with more dates ahead this summer, including several with The Black Keys.

Gary Clark Jr. – Forest Hills Stadium – August 13, 2025

Setlist: Maktub, Ain’t Messin ‘Round, When My Train Pulls In (Set ended early due to lightning.)