Rock legends AC/DC reveal Australian tour details

Australian rock icons AC/DC will head home to Australia in November, marking their first shows Down Under in nearly a decade.

The band, which formed in Sydney in 1973, will be in the country between November 12 and December 14 as part of their Power Up world tour.

The Aussie rock royalty will paint the town black for the first time in nearly 10 years.Credit: Getty Images

They will hit the MCG in Melbourne on November 12 and Sydney’s Accor Stadium on November 21. This will be followed by the bp Adelaide Grand Final on November 30, which AC/DC will headline. Then, as an early Christmas present to Perth and Brisbane-based Acadaca fans, the group will head to Perth’s Optus Stadium on December 4 and Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium on December 14.

The Grammy Award-winning group will be supported by Melbourne pub rock band Amyl and the Sniffers.

“AC/DC puts their fans ahead of everything else. They’re perfectionists in every way and will always make sure each fan walks out with a big smile on their face,” said Australian tour promoter Christo Van Egmond, son of Garry Van Egmond, who promoted AC/DC’s Australian tours for 40 years.

Van Egmond notes Acadaca’s legacy, citing the wide spectrum of ages at each show. “I think we’ve got about five generations of fans in Australia now,” he said. “Everyone resonates with AC/DC, whether they’re young or old.”

His first memory of the group was when they performed at Rod Laver Arena (known then as the National Tennis Centre) in 1988.

“It was the first show that happened there. I think they were still building it when they made the announcement on the show. All the builders went nuts,” he said.

They’ve played countless shows since, all of which Van Egmond says have been huge in production scale and unique. As for whether the upcoming shows will be the band’s last in Australia, he said it was hard to tell.

“We just know they love touring,” he said.

The Aussie gigs follow a series of concerts across the US and Europe, where the legendary group performed fan favourites like Thunderstruck, Highway to Hell and You Shook Me All Night Long. The European leg sold over 2 million tickets in 24 shows, and was described as “sweat-inducing, fist-thrusting rock”.

AC/DC were last in Australia in 2015 for the Rock or Bust world tour, during which they played in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane. The group largely took a step back from performing live after this, though they returned for the California festival Power Trip in 2023.

Taking the stage will be original member Angus Young, 70, on lead guitar, and 77-year-old singer Brian Johnson, who joined the band in 1980 following the death of frontman Bon Scott. Joining them will be Angus and Malcolm Young’s nephew Stevie Young on rhythm guitar. Stevie joined the band in 2014, following Malcolm’s dementia diagnosis. Malcolm died in 2017.

The group will be rounded out by drummer Matt Laug, and bassist Chris Chaney.

In honour of the rock royalty’s return down under, Melbourne City Council will invite the band to help re-create the famous music video for It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ’n’ Roll), which was filmed on a flatbed truck on Swanston Street nearly 50 years ago.

“February 23, 1976 was a famous moment in Aussie rock,” Lord Mayor of Melbourne Nicholas Reece said. “Liverpool has the Beatles, Manchester has Oasis and Swanston Street has AC/DC. We’ll certainly approach the band and invite them to perform on that famous flatbed truck again, and even do a replay in the Melbourne City Square of their performance 50 years ago.”

Whether the band agrees to take part remains uncertain. Brian Johnson has not performed It’s a Long Way to the Top since the death of Bon Scott out of respect for the former lead vocalist. However, Reece says this could be the perfect opportunity to honour him.

AC/DC has been selling out shows across the US and Europe for their Power Up tour. Now it’s Australia’s turn.Credit: Getty Images

“If ever there was an excuse to break that rule [of not playing the song], surely it would be on the 50th anniversary – all in honour of Bon,” he said.

Van Egmond said the team would facilitate the request, and “see where it lands with the band”.

If they decline the invitation, Reece said a 50th anniversary event would still go ahead in February. “We’ll recreate the flatbed truck performance and pull together an AC/DC super-group – names like Tim Rogers are being floated – and recreate that moment down Swanston Street and the city square,” he said.

“We want to paint the town black.”

AC/DC officially launched on New Year’s Eve in 1973 at Chequers Nightclub in Sydney, where they played their first gig. Since then, they have been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and they have sold over 200 million albums worldwide, making them one of the best-selling artists of all time.

Their Back in Black LP, which landed in 1980, sold an estimated 50 million copies globally, making it one of the bestselling albums of any band in music history.

Their most recent album Power Up, which was released in 2020 and which their current tour celebrates, debuted at No.1 on the ARIA chart. It also debuted at No.1 on the Billboard 200, marking the band’s third time debuting in the top spot.

Tickets for the Australian shows go on sale at staggered times on Thursday. Specific times can be found on the TEG website.

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