AC/DC Announce 2025 North American Tour

The Power Up Tour marks the band first full tour of the continent since 2016

Back in May, AC/DC returned to the road for the first since 2016. The European trek kicked off at Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Germany on May 17. The legendary rockers powered through a monstrous 24-song set that spanned their entire career, packed with some of their biggest hits and a few rare gems.

They started the set with “If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It).” From there, they pulled tracks from 11 of their studio albums, including two new tunes from their latest, Power Up – “Shot in the Dark” and “Demon Fire.” Other highlights included “Back In Black,” “Shot Down in Flames,” “Stiff Upper Lip,” “Dog Eat Dog,” “Highway to Hell,” and many more.

The run wrapped up on August 17 at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland.

Next spring, after much anticipation, AC/DC are bringing their Power Up Tour to North America. The stadium trek is a continued celebration of the hard rock hitmakers’ 50th anniversary, and their first time supporting their latest album Power Up on this continent. This leg of the tour begins on April 10 at- U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota and will see the band perform in Dallas, Las Vegas, Detroit, Nashville, and more. Check out the full tour itinerary below.

Tickets go on sale this Friday, December 6 at 10am local venue time.

Joining the band on tour will once again be The Pretty Reckless, who are not strangers to the big stage. They served as special guests for AC/DC on their recently wrapped European run. They supported Shinedown on their Revolutions Live Tour in 2022, and the Foo Fighters last year.

The Pretty Reckless released their acclaimed fourth album, Death by Rock and Roll, back in 2021. The album features special guest appearances by Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil and Pearl Jam’s Matt Cameron on “Only Love Can Save Me Now,” and Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello on the hit single, “And So It Went.” The album peaked at No. 5 in Germany and No. 6 in the UK. It topped the UK Rock & Metal Albums chart, and scored Top 5 notches on Billboard’s Top Rock and Top Hard Rock Albums charts.

Back in January, The Pretty Reckless entered the studio to begin work on their fifth album.

Last October, AC/DC made their triumphant return to the stage after a seven year hiatus. The band performed after Judas Priest with previously retired bassist Cliff Williams and drummer Matt Laug sitting behind the kit. While they didn’t scratch any songs off this list, they did debut two tracks from their 2020 album, Power Up – “Demon Fire” and “Shot in the Dark.” The band’s seventeenth studio album, Power Up peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and topped the charts in several other countries around the world.

The rest of the set was filled with some of the band’s biggest hits, and several rare gems that haven’t seen the lights of a stage in decades.

AC/DC kicked off their set with their 1979 fan favorite, “If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It).” It was the first time the band opened with the song in 20 years. From there, they launched into their massive hit, “Back in Black.” The played “Dog Eat Dog” for the first time with frontman Brian Johnson since 1996, and “Riff Raff” for the first time with Johnson on the mic since 2009. AC/DC played both songs back in 2016 when Axl Rose of fellow Power Trip performers Guns N’ Roses was filling in for Johnson on vocals. Johnson was forced to step away from the band while dealing with hearing loss. Axl played the final 22 shows of AC/DC’s Rock or Bust Tour.

AC/DC also pulled out “Stiff Upper Lip” for the first time since 2003. Other highlights included “Shot Down in Flames,” “Thunderstruck,” “Have a Drink on Me,” “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap,” “Shoot to Thrill,” “Rock ‘n’ Roll Train,” “Highway to Hell,” “Whole Lotta Rosie,” and many more. 

While bassist Cliff Williams has retired from touring, the band tapped ex-Jane’s Addiction and Alanis Morissette bassist Chris Chaney to join them on the road. Another alumnus of Alanis’s band – drummer Matt Laug – will once again be performing with AC/DC on the upcoming run of dates. Laug made his debut with AC/DC at Power Trip back in October, and toured with the band on their European leg.

“We are thrilled to finally announce the Power Up European Tour,” AC/DC said at the time. “Angus [Young], Brian [Johnson], Stevie [Young], and Matt [Laug] will be joined by Chris Chaney to carry the torch for Cliff. The tour will see us play shows across Germany, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, England, Slovakia, Belgium, France & Ireland this Summer. We can’t wait to see you all out there.”

AC/DC’s performance at Power Trip a few months ago saw the band take the stage with frontman Brian Johnson, lead guitarist Angus Young, rhythm guitarist Stevie Young, bassist Cliff Williams, and drummer Matt Laug. In July of 2016, Williams announced that he would be retiring after the completion of the band’s Rock or Bust World Tour. He returned to the fold, however, in 2018 to record bass on the band’s new album, Power Up. 

The confirmation of Laug’s involvement with the band for the Power Trip was most likely connected to legal issues stemming from original drummer Phil Rudd’s 2014 arrest. Rudd was charged with attempting to procure the murder of two men, according to New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty Police District representative Kim Perks at the time. He was also charged with threatening to kill, possession of cannabis, and possession of methamphetamine. A day after he was arrested, one of the charges for attempting to procure a murder was dropped. In April of 2015, Rudd pleaded guilty to the remaining charges at the Tauranga District Court (New Zealand). In July of 2015, he was sentenced to eight months of home detention plus a $120,000 USD fine.

Laug is a storied rock music drummer, having done stints with Alice Cooper, Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs, Slash’s Snakepit, and Alanis Morissette, as previously mentioned.

At the time of his arrest, Rudd had already completed recording drums for AC/DC’s sixteenth studio album, Rock or Bust, which came out just days later on November 28. Despite Rudd playing on the record, AC/DC recruited former Shogun drummer Bob Richards to fill in for Rudd in two music videos the band shot for the album amid Rudd’s ongoing legal issues at the time. In February of 2015, AC/DC recruited former drummer Chris Slade to play with them at the 57th Annual GRAMMY® Awards. Slade was a member of AC/DC from 1989 to 1994, and played drums on their 1990 album The Razor’s Edge. The album hit #2 on the Billboard Top 200 and contains some of the band’s biggest hits. To date, the disc has sold over 5 million copies in the U.S. alone. Slade also appears on the band’s 1992 live effort, AC/DC Live. Slade would then join the band for their massive Rock or Bust World Tour, which began on May 5 at the Gelredome in Arnhem, Netherlands.

While best known for his stints with AC/DC, Slade has also performed with the likes of Asia, Gary Numan, Manfred Man’s Earth Band, Terra Nova, Bloodstock, David Gilmore, Uriah Heep, Gary Moore, Tom Jones, The Firm, Damage Control, and others.

In 2020, AC/DC released their seventeenth studio album, Power Up. The record peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and topped the charts in several other countries around the world. Once again, Angus and Malcolm Young’s nephew Stevie Young, who took over rhythm guitar duties for Malcolm after he stepped away from the band in 2014 due to his declining health, played on the record. Malcolm Young passed away back in 2017.

To celebrate five decades as a band, AC/DC reissued their entire catalog on limited edition vinyl. The new pressings are on gold vinyl, with a special 50th anniversary logo. The band’s first nine albums began coming out back on March 15. Each of the nine LPs comes with an album-specific 12×12″ print featuring new ‘AC/DC 50’ artwork, suitable for framing. The albums will be available individually, or as a nine-title bundle.

Additionally, 50th anniversary colored vinyl variants are being released.

“We’re celebrating 50 years of rock and roll with the release of our entire catalog pressed on vibrant gold vinyl LPs,” the band said in a statement.

In addition to the vinyl records, AC/DC have curated an entire 50th anniversary merchandise line, including t-shirts, hoodies, long-sleeved tees, album patches, mugs, tote bags, and more. The band’s official Power Up 2024 Tour shirt with dates is also available now.

April 10 – U.S. Bank Stadium – Minneapolis, MN
April 14 – AT&T Stadium – Dallas, TX
April 18 – Rose Bowl – Pasadena, CA
April 22 – BC Place – Vancouver, BC
April 26 – Allegiant Stadium – Las Vegas, NV
April 30 – Ford Field – Detroit, MI
May 4 – Gillette Stadium – Foxborough, MA
May 8 – Acrisure Stadium – Pittsburgh, PA
May 12 – Northwest Stadium – Landover, MD
May 16 – Raymond James Stadium – Tampa, FL
May 20 – Nissan Stadium – Nashville, TN
May 24 – Soldier Field – Chicago, IL
May 28 – Huntington Bank Field – Cleveland, OH

Tickets will be available HERE