AC/DC Announce European Tour — With New Drummer and Bassist
AC/DC are hitting the road for the first time in eight years. The hard rock band announced a European stadium tour Monday morning that kicks off May 17 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, and wraps up August 17 in Dublin, Ireland.
It’s a new lineup of AC/DC featuring drummer Matt Laug, who played with the group during their one-off Power Trip performance last year, and former Jane’s Addiction bassist Chris Chaney “carrying the torch” for bassist Cliff Williams.
When AC/DC last toured in 2016, hearing problems forced Brian Johnson to step aside for the final portion of the tour. In a move that polarized their fan base, he was replaced by Axl Rose. Bassist Cliff Williams announced his retirement after the last show, leaving Angus Young as the last active member of the Back in Black lineup. “To be quite frank, it was not an easy tour to finish,” Williams told Rolling Stone in 2022. “I had some health issues that I won’t bore you with the details of. But I had stuff going on while I was on the road, terrible vertigo. For me, I just thought that it was my time.”
But when the band reconvened to record 2020’s Power Up, Johnson was back in the fold thanks to a new hearing aid technology. They also made peace with Back in Black-era drummer Phil Rudd, who left the group in 2015 thanks to some fairly serious legal issues in New Zealand that were ultimately resolved. He was asked to rejoin the group for the recording of Power Up.
“I speak for all the boys with Phil,” Johnson told Rolling Stone in 2022. “We defend Phil to the hilt. What happened up there, that’s not the Phil we know. That was just something else. He’s really looking brilliant now and doing everything great.”
The return of Johnson and Rudd was enough to convince Williams to join them for the recording of Power Up. “It was like the old band back together,” Williams told Rolling Stone. “It was not like starting over again, but as close to the band that’s been together for 40-plus years as we can possibly make it. I didn’t want to miss that.”
Williams was back onstage when the group reemerged to play Power Trip in 2023, but Rudd had been replaced by Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs drummer Matt Laug for reasons that have yet to be explained. Laug is back for this upcoming tour. And Williams has once again stepped aside. Chris Chaney, their new touring bassist, played in Jane’s Addiction from 2002 to 2004 and then again from 2011 to 2022. He left Jane’s Addiction when founding bassist Eric Avery came back a couple of years ago.
It’s unclear if AC/DC’s Power Up tour will head to America after the European run. It’s also unclear if Williams and Rudd are out of the band or just standing on the sidelines for this one run. But fans have waited a long time to see AC/DC in any form, and this is going to be a huge tour.
AC/DC’s 2024 Power Up tour dates.
May 17 – Gelsenkirchen, Germany @ Veltins Arena
May 21 – Gelsenkirchen, Germany @ Veltins Arena
May 25 – Reggio Emilia, Italy @ RCF Arena
May 29 – Seville, Spain @ La Cartuja Stadium
June 5 – Amsterdam, The Netherlands @ Johan Cruyff Arena
June 9 – Munich, Germany @ Olympic Stadium*
June 12 – Munich, Germany @ Olympic Stadium*
June 16 – Dresden, Germany @ Messe
June 23 – Vienna, Austria @ Ernst Happel Stadium
June 26 – Vienna, Austria @ Ernst Happel Stadium
June 29 – Zurich, Switzerland @ Letzigrund Stadium
July 3 – London, England @ Wembley Stadium
July 7 – London, England @ Wembley Stadium
July 13 – Hockenheim @ Germany, Ring
July 17 – Stuttgart, Germany @ Wasen
July 21 – Bratislava, Slovakia @ Old Airport
July 27 – Nuremberg, Germany @ Zeppelinfeld
July 31 – Hannover, Germany @ Messe
August 9 – Dessel, Belgium @ Festivalpark Stenehei
August 13 – Paris, France @ Hippodrome Paris-Longchamp
August 17 – Dublin, Ireland @ Croke Park