AC/DC closed out their 2025 North American Power Up tour with a commanding show in front of a packed house of 50,000 fans in Cleveland Wednesday night.
Here’s hoping it won’t be the last time they visit us.
For much of the past decade, it was quite reasonable to assume we’d never see the legendary Australian band onstage again. AC/DC tours have grown few and far between over the past century. There was a seven-year gap between the 2000-2001 Stiff Upper Lip and 2008-2010 Black Ice tours, and it took another five years for them to mount the 2015-2016 Rock or Bust tour.
The Rock or Bust tour, as we’ve documented extensively in the past, found the band besieged by health and other issues. Only two members of AC/DC’s five-man 1994-2014 lineup were on stage at the final concert – bassist Cliff Williams and guitarist Angus Young. And Williams had already announced his imminent retirement prior to that show.
The 2017 death of Angus’ brother and fellow founding guitarist Malcom Young cast even more doubt on the band’s future. But the remaining members of that aforementioned lineup – Angus, singer Brian Johnson, Williams and legally troubled drummer Phil Rudd – got back together in the studio the following year to record the (very good) Power Up album as a tribute to Malcolm.
The band didn’t release the album until 2020, at which point the COVID pandemic had put a halt to most tours. AC/DC finally returned to the stage in 2023 for a one-off appearance at the Power Trip festival, with a lineup of Young, Johnson, Williams, Stevie Young (Angus and Malcom’s nephew) and drummer Matt Laug in place of Rudd.
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Three and a half years after the album’s release, the band finally launched the Power Up tour with a 24-date European tour. This spring they returned to North America for a 13-date tour, which concluded last night – and now you’re all caught up.
So what happens next? In a month the band will begin a 15-date summer tour of Europe, and… that’s all we know.
AC/DC has been notably tight-lipped about their lineup changes and plans. “I’m not answering that – why should I?” Johnson said in 2022 when Eddie Trunk asked him if AC/DC would play live again. “I cannot answer that. I’ve been told not to by everybody. It’s the official line. …If I say one thing, it’ll be blown out of all proportion. You just can’t afford to talk now. There’s too much blabber on the internet.”
As a result of this (highly understandable) “loose lips sink ships” approach, we don’t know many things about the recent changes in AC/DC’s world. For example, exactly how did Johnson overcome the hearing problems that forced him off the Rock or Bust tour?
Similarly, it’s reasonable to assume that Williams came back for the Power Up album as a tribute to Malcolm, and to the Power Trip show for a chance to perform with Johnson one more time. But those are assumptions, not facts.
We also don’t know why Rudd returned for the album but not any of the shows. It could be due to the legal troubles that presumably kept him off the Rock or Bust tour, but again, that’s just a guess.
There was nothing in last night’s show that suggested there was any need for Johnson or Young to retire anytime soon. Johnson’s voice has taken on some understandable wear over the decades, but the 77-year old singer still has more than enough to get the job done, and he’s making better choices with what he’s got left than some much younger famous rock singers.
As for Angus? The 70-year-old guitarist remains an unbelievable force of nature. While his nephew, drummer Laug and new bassist Chris Chaney (68, 57 and 54 respectively) kept the rhythm section locked down in a tight huddle near the back of the stage, Angus prowled, preened and kicked all sorts of unholy ass all over the massive stage throughout the night, culminating in a 22-minute version of “Let There Be Rock” that featured two separate massive guitar solos.
Let’s assume – always dangerous, admittedly – that the Power Up tour ends after these European dates. AC/DC has never been into greatest hits albums, or even touring without a new studio album to promote.
At some point age has to catch up with them, right? Are they going to break that cycle and go back on the road without a new album? Or will they head to the studio first, and if so are we looking at another half-decade absence? If this is goodbye, are they gonna tell us in advance?
To be clear – these are questions, not complaints. AC/DC has earned the right to do whatever the hell they want to do, and to tell us about it whenever they please. They owe us nothing, and this tour and album have been a welcome surprise and gift. All we can really do is apologize for being selfish and wanting more.
Watch AC/DC Perform ‘For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)’
AC/DC May 28, 2025 Cleveland Huntington Bank Field Set List
1. “If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)”
2. “Back in Black”
3. “Demon Fire”
4. “Shot Down in Flames”
5. “Thunderstruck”
6. “Have a Drink on Me”
7. “Hells Bells”
8. “Shot in the Dark”
9. “Stiff Upper Lip”
10. “Highway to Hell”
11. “Shoot to Thrill”
12. “Sin City”
13. “Rock ‘n’ Roll Train”
14. “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap”
15. “High Voltage”
16. “Riff Raff”
17. “You Shook Me All Night Long”
18. “Whole Lotta Rosie”
19. “Let There Be Rock”
20. “T.N.T.”
21. “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)”
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Gallery Credit: Nick DeRiso
