Twin Temple #
Introduction #
Twin Temple, the Los Angeles duo of married couple Alexandra and Zachary James known for their self-described “Satanic doo-wop” sound, was dropped from two dates on country singer Charley Crockett’s tour in July 2026 over their use of Satanic imagery and allegiance to Satanism. After the duo announced their removal on July 8, 2026, Grammy winner Jack White publicly offered them a support slot at the Hollywood Palladium on September 29, 2026, and a feud between Crockett and White was still simmering in mid-August 2026.
Background Information #
Twin Temple is an American rock duo formed by the married couple Alexandra and Zachary James, who self-describe their sound as “Satanic doo-wop.” Based in Los Angeles and active since 2017, they draw on American rock and roll of the 1950s and 1960s — including The Platters, Roy Orbison, and Buddy Holly — and have been compared to Amy Winehouse. Their blend of vintage doo-wop and Satanic imagery is hardly subtle, as track titles like “Let’s Have a Satanic Orgy,” “Lucifer, My Love,” and “Burn Your Bible” suggest.
The duo released their debut album in 2019, recorded live and in mono, and built a following on the rock circuit, opening for the band Ghost in 2019 and 2022 and supporting Danzig in 2023. Their image has drawn backlash before: the commentator Alex Jones denounced them as the “embodiment of pure evil,” after which the couple was doxxed, received bibles mailed to their house, and faced death threats.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation #
According to a statement shared by Twin Temple on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, Crockett dropped them from two upcoming gigs because of their use of Satanic imagery. “We are sorry to everyone who was planning to see us,” they wrote. “We’re grateful for your support, not only of Twin Temple, but more importantly of artistic freedom. HAIL SATAN!”
Crockett first responded with a lighthearted statement via his spokesperson: “I thought they were like Black Sabbath, but they ain’t. Not today, Satan.” He then posted an image of Johnny Cash at Melody Ranch captioned “If they did it to Jesus, imagine what they’ll do to you,” followed by: “FUCK TRUMP, FUCK EPSTEIN, BUT HAIL SATAN? NOT ME JACK.”
Crockett made clear he would not apologize. “I won’t conform and I’m not sorry,” he wrote. “There are many things I’ve done in my life to apologize for but this ain’t one of them.”
Public Reaction and Consequences #
White’s counter-offer came two days after the announcement. On Friday, July 10 — the same day he released his album Frozen Charlotte — White wrote on social media: “Twin Temple, would you like to open my show in L.A. on September 29th at the Hollywood Palladium?” Nodding to the White Stripes’ 2005 record Get Behind Me Satan, he concluded, “Let me know. Get in front of me Satan!” Accepting, Alexandra James replied: “Unholy hell…. Sir Jack, you have no idea what this means to us. Lifelong fans- dead leaves on the dirty ground was one of the first songs I (Alex) ever learned on guitar. It would be a most infernal pleasure to play the devil’s music with you.”
Asked by a fan how he, “as a practicing Catholic,” felt about promoting the band, White replied: “I never claimed to be a practicing catholic or christian, you assumed that. And i’m not scared of satan or any bullshit imagery man made up to live in fear of.”
The feud escalated in August. In a lengthy Instagram post on August 18, Crockett said it was time to “clear this up right quick,” claiming the duo had “made it up and dragged me by a rope real good.” He said he had decided to drop them about a month before their planned shows: their “production requests raised eyebrows” not because of the Satan-loving content, but because “we couldn’t accommodate them physically.” After noticing “some of the things they’d been doing on stage,” he “decided to cut em loose,” adding: “We told em the vibe just wasn’t right for an all ages audience, and we paid em in full.” He accused the band of “plotting for days” and “dog whistling about religious and creative freedom” while ignoring his own rights.
Crockett reserved his harshest words for White: “He used it to sell tickets too and I lost a lot of respect for him. I wonder why he wasn’t so outspoken back when he was in the White Stripes 20 something years ago.” He also said artists who had spent years “showering me with praise” used the situation “to kick me in the dick,” and that the media, “save for one outlet, cared nothing for the truth.”
Twin Temple, meanwhile, converted the attention into bookings, making their late-night television debut on The Daily Show on July 29, 2026, promoting their album Doomed Lovers.
Current Status #
As of late August 2026, the feud shows no sign of cooling: Rolling Stone reported on August 18 that Crockett was still posting about the band more than a month after they were dropped, even while acknowledging “I reacted. I might respond differently now but everybody’s got perfect vision in hindsight,” and closing defiantly: “Real patriots think for themselves.”
Twin Temple are scheduled to open for Jack White at the Hollywood Palladium on September 29, 2026.
Impact on Their Career/Life #
The incident transformed Twin Temple from a little-known Los Angeles duo into the subject of a national press cycle, with coverage in USA Today, NME, and Rolling Stone. Beyond the headlines came concrete gains: an invitation to open for a Grammy winner and a late-night television debut on The Daily Show.
For Crockett, the episode carried its own costs. Twin Temple framed their removal as an attack on artistic and religious freedom, while Crockett insisted the media “sanitized these folks’ image for their own uses in the click bait traffic game that is America’s left-right culture war.” The dispute left him publicly feuding with a major rock figure long after most observers had moved on.
The case shows how quickly an image-based controversy can escalate: two dropped opening slots became a Grammy winner’s headline invitation, a late-night TV appearance, and a months-long feud between a country singer and a rock star.