AC/DC announce 21-date Power Up tour – and a new bass player
AC/DC have announced a 10-city, 21-date European tour. The band, who returned to the stage at last year’s Power Trip festival in California, will kick off the Power Up schedule at the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Germany on May 17, and wrap things up at the Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland, on August 17. The schedule includes two UK shows at London’s Wembley Stadium on July 3 and 7. Full dates below.
Tickets go on sale at 10am local time on February 16.
The band have also confirmed the lineup for the tour, which will see Brian Johnson, Angus Young and Stevie Young joined by drummer Matt Laug, who deputised for Phil Rudd at Power Trip, and former Jane’s Addiction bassist Chris Chaney, who’ll be filling in for Cliff Williams. Williams initially retired from the band at the end of the Rock Or Bust tour in 2016, but returned for 2020’s Power Up album.
Chaney was also a member of Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders, and played at Wembley Stadium during the Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert. A noted session and touring musician, he’s also performed with Joe Satriani, Slash, Joe Cocker, Bryan Adams, Meat Loaf and many others.
AC/DC began teasing the tour last week by posting a mysterious video on their social media channels. The clip showed a flickering version of the band’s lightning bolt logo, followed by the words ‘ARE YOU READY’, accompanied by the AC/DC song of the same name. Subsequent clips continued the countdown to today’s announcement, while a clock did the same job on the band’s official website.
No dates have yet been announced for North and South America, Asia or Australasia, although Brazilian sources claim that AC/DC have been approached to perform at this year’s Rock In Rio event, which takes place in September.
Prior to Power Trip, the Aussie titans hadn’t hit the road together since 2016. The new dates also mark the return to full-time action of frontman Brian Johnson, who was forced to abandon AC/DC’s Rock Or Bust trek after developing hearing problems, and was replaced by Guns N’ Roses singer Axl Rose for the remainder of the tour.