AC/DC guitarist Angus Young doesn't really look young anymore — at 71, his face is weathered, his hair evoking Doc Brown from "Back to the Future." But his energy at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Thursday night, as part of the band's Power Up tour, was off the charts. Young played his Gibson SG like a beloved appendage, and his signature schoolboy outfit seemed to grant him schoolboy-age stamina.
Over 21 songs and two hours and 20 minutes, Young ran across the stage without a hint of fatigue, his duck walks as awe-inspiring as ever. His longtime bandmate, 78-year-old lead singer Brian Johnson — who stepped in for the late Bon Scott back in 1980 — matched him beat for beat, tearing through "Have a Drink on Me" and "High Voltage" with the vigor of someone half his age.
AC/DC has never chased the times. Its bluesy, grinding 1970s sound didn't bend for synthesizers in the '80s or grunge in the '90s, and Thursday's set reflected that stubbornness in the best way: no acoustic breaks, no power ballads, no reason for anyone in the building to sit down. Every song landed like a pile driver, built on a meaty guitar riff, a heavy drum beat, and Johnson's gritty falsetto.
The stadium setting suited the band. At least 300 speakers were positioned around the venue, a large stretch of the floor was given over to the soundboard and lighting console, and three massive screens up front let even the nosebleed seats track Young's fretwork. Leading into "Back in Black," Johnson kept the between-song banter to a minimum: "We're going to make rock 'n' roll and have some fun, so let's go!"
The set mixed deep cuts from recent albums — "Demon Fire," "Shot in the Dark" — with nearly every classic a casual AC/DC fan would know. Opening riffs from "Hells Bells," "Thunderstruck," and "You Shook Me All Night Long" sent the multi-generational crowd, parents and kids alike, into a frenzy. Fans wore goofy lit-up devil horns and threw the hand sign all night, a cheeky callback to the 1980s Satanic Panic that once branded the band a highway to hell for rebellious teens — imagery Young has long said was pure tongue-in-cheek theater.
As the night wore past 10 p.m., Young shed his jacket and tie for the ritual he performs at every show: a fiery 20-minute solo during "Let There Be Rock." Maybe it runs long. But the feral intensity and finger dexterity behind it made the case on their own that this band, five decades in, still has something to prove — and still proves it.
Original reporting by Rodney Ho for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, published August 2026.
