The band will headline the three-day desert festival in October
AC/DC has recruited Matt Laug to play drums and Cliff Williams to rejoin on bass for the band’s appearance at next month’s Power Trip festival in Indio, CA. Over the weekend, the Australian rockers teased the performance with an audio snippet from recent rehearsals and the caption, “PWR UP for Power Trip! Listen to the rehearsal of the boys powering up with Cliff Williams, who’s coming out of retirement for the festival, and Matt Laug on drums.”
Laug is a sought-after American studio drummer who has played with the likes of Alanis Morissette, Alice Cooper, Slash’s Snakepit and others.
AC/DC has not stated why Laug is replacing longtime drummer Phil Rudd, who rejoined the band for their latest album, Power Up, which was released in November 2020.
In 2015, Rudd was forced to sit out the band’s Rock or Bust Tour and promotional appearances for Rock or Bust following legal charges for drug possession and threatening to kill in his native New Zealand. Rudd was required to stay close to home for court and was not able to travel and had already completed drumming duties before charges were filed.
Williams announced his retirement from AC/DC in 2016 but reunited with the band for Power Up.
The three-day Power Trip will see AC/DC headline on Saturday, October 7th alongside Judas Priest, who’s replacing an ailing Ozzy Osbourne. Guns N’ Roses and Iron Maiden will open the event on Friday, October 6th with Metallica and Tool closing on Sunday, October 8th.
As of this writing, Power Trip is the only AC/DC performance announced since 2016.
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