AC/DC
Atlanta, GA
August 27, 2026
Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Thursday nights might not be the first thing you’d think of when it comes to letting it all go and rocking your face off, but leave it to AC/DC to fix that. When AC/DC rolls into town, regardless of the night, it turns into a Saturday night, and this past Thursday night in Atlanta was no exception.
The last time I saw AC/DC was back in 2001 on their Stiff Upper Lip tour. That was the first and only time that I would get to see the iconic Back in Black lineup of Angus Young, Malcom Young, Brian Johnson, Phil Rudd, and Cliff Williams. After that, life got busy and distracting, and a whole slew of bands came into my life and slowly pushed AC/DC to the back burner.
While I never gave up my love of AC/DC and continued to listen to their music regularly, going to see AC/DC live just wasn’t on my list of things to do. Over the years, AC/DC tours would come and go, and the older I got, the more I felt the pull of needing to see AC/DC live again. I had planned to see the band in 2016 on their Rock or Bust tour, but because of Brian Johnson’s hearing issues, he was replaced by Axl Rose. Yeah, that’s a hard pass, bro.
Fast forward to 2026: one of my best friends took his son to see AC/DC in Charlotte on the band’s recent Pwr Up tour. Before the show was even over, he texted me, saying we needed to see AC/DC in Atlanta. When this dude says something like that, I know he isn’t bullshitting, so he excitedly got us tickets for the show at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA.
On the day of the show, we met up at the hotel and then headed to the AC/DC PWRD UP pop-up shop for some pre-show shopping. The PWRD UP shop not only featured most of the merchandise available inside the venue, but also served as a traveling museum, featuring one of the 21 cannons from the band’s legendary 1992 Castle Donnington Monsters of Rock appearance and one of Angus Young’s schoolboy stage outfits. The shop also featured interactive moments for fans, such as posing with a Gibson SG replica of Angus Young’s guitar and a huge neon AC/DC logo that they could stand in front of on a stage to get their photo taken.
As with most long-running legacy acts, AC/DC’s fan base is hardcore to the floor. I saw fans ranging from as young as 7 or 8 all the way up to folks in their 70s who remembered seeing them with Bon Scott back in the day. Lots of guys and gals in schoolboy outfits, and more red flashing AC/DC devil horns than you can imagine. These people were not there to fuck around, and it was very loud and clear just who everyone was there to see.
Finally, AC/DC took the stage to a sold-out crowd of 60,000+ screaming maniacs who were ready to rock like it was the last night on earth. The now-iconic cartoon intro started things off, and then, without even blinking, they tore into “If You Want Blood… You’ve Got It,” and the place went absolutely apeshit crazy.
For the next 2 hours and 20 minutes, AC/DC knocked everyone’s teeth in with a set that boasted banger after banger. “Back In Black” followed in 2nd position, and honestly, I was shocked to hear it play so early in the set. I also didn’t peek at the setlist because I wanted the thrill of surprise. “Have a Drink on Me” was definitely a highlight for me as I have never heard that one live before.
The 21-song setlist featured a whopping 10 Bon Scot era songs, and I can honestly say that if there was ever a time that Bon could be smiling at the band from wherever he may be, it was going to be after this show. Brian Johnson has been singing Bon Scott’s songs longer than Bon did, but to this day he honors Bon’s memory and style and makes those songs sound as electrifying as ever.
At 78 years old, Brian Johnson may be the best rock ’n’ roll front man out there. While Angus is out there tearing up the stage on 11, Johnson struts around the stage with more swagger and confidence than I’ve seen in many of his peers. Strutting around, hip shaking, grunting like a beast in between his banter, Brian Johnson is a badass. Actually, I’m going to say it. Brian Johnson is a Goddamned sex machine. I don’t think anyone on that stage was having as much fun as Johnson.
Johnson’s between-song banter sounded less like a cheese “rock god” kind of singer and more like a drunk blues singer in a grimy Glasgow pub, and Angus was, well, he was Angus. What else can be said? I feel exhausted just thinking about how on fire he was. The man uses every inch of that stage and never misses or flubs a note. Every time he launches into a solo, the place is absolutely bonkers, which at times even has Angus cracking a slight smile.
Stevie Young has been appointed the rhythm guitar slot after the untimely passing of founding member Malcolm Young. Stevie brings it. I miss Malcolm as does everyone, but Stevie did a great job staying true to the sound and style of Malcolm’s playing. Gone forever is that powerful attack that Malcolm always put into the songs, at times sounding like he was going to strum the strings right off his guitar, but again, Stevie does the job he’s been given, and he does it really fucking well.
Missing were long-time drummer Phil Rudd and bassist Cliff Williams. Rudd has been out of the picture since 2015 due to legal troubles, and Williams retired from playing at the conclusion of AC/DC’s 2016 Rock or Bust tour. Stepping into the vacancy would be Matt Laug on drums and Chris Chaney, and after watching them, I realized that, in a nutshell, AC/DC’s rhythm section is totally disposable. Don’t get me wrong, the guy crushed it, but they didn’t play any better or any worse than Williams and Rudd. At times during the show, I totally forgot that it wasn’t the rhythm section of Rudd and Williams.
AC/DC closed out the pre-encore portion of the show with a rousing 20+ minute version of “Let There Be Rock” featuring a VERRRRRY long guitar solo. I love Angus and always will, but man, c’mon. 15-minute guitar solo? It felt like an hour as it just killed the momentum of the show and the song. Luckily, when they circled back to finish the song, they went out with such a bang that I was able to forgive and forget.
For the encore, the boys returned with the double-hitter of “T.N.T” and “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) For the finale, six huge cannons rose from behind the amplifiers and the crowd cheered so loud that it drowned out Angus’ guitar. When those fuckers went off, it was damn near deafening, and nobody seemed to care. AC/DC tore through the song and after more huge blasts from the cannons, the boys bid Atlanta a good night and exited the stage. No fanfare, no final bow, nothing. Just that good ol’ “we came, we saw, we conquered” attitude that has made AC/DC the unstoppable machine that they still are today.
AC/DC’s stage show was ginormous, but with them set up primarily in the center of the stage, it gave the illusion of being in a theater. They have found a way to constantly recreate the loud, abrasive, and loose bar-band days and expand into larger-scale venues while never compromising or changing their sound. From Brian Johnson’s natural, grunting banter to the raw, over-the-top volume of the performance, it was loud and clear that AC/DC is a band that never forgot where they came from and never will.
Ears ringing and smiling so big the corners of my mouth started hurting, I thought of this verse from “For Those About to Rock.”
Hail, hail to the good times
‘Cause rock has got the right of way
We ain’t no legend, ain’t no cause.
We’re just livin’ for today.
AC/DC are definitely legends. They still bring the good times, and for 2 hours and 20 minutes, 60,000+ people were livin’ for the day. It was a truly beautiful thing to be a part of, and if that is the last time I ever see AC/DC, I can honestly say that I saw one of the most unforgettable shows of my life.
Setlist:
If You Want Blood, You Got It
Back in Black
Demon Fire
Shot Down In Flames
Thunderstruck
Have A Drink On Me
Hell’s Bells
Shot In The Dark
Stiff Upper Lip
Highway to Hell
Shoot To Thrill
Sin City
Jailbreak
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
High Voltage
Riff Raff
You Shook Me All Night Long
Whole Lotta Rosie
Let There Be Rock
=======================
Encore:
TNT
For Those About To Rock
About The Author
