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Just like the name of its latest album, “Power Up,” AC/DC is powering up once again for its fans who have long awaited seeing them perform live in concert.

The last time AC/DC took the stage was Sept. 20, 2016  during the last show of its “Rock or Bust” tour that supported the album of the same name. However, the last two legs of that tour should have an asterisk next to them as lead Brian Johnson, was unable to perform due to serious hearing loss. Guns ‘N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose filled in during this time.

Being forced to replace a band member is nothing new to AC/DC, as Johnson was chosen as the new lead singer after the original lead vocalist, Bon Scott, died of an overdose in February 1980. Since then, Johnson has been on every album to date, starting with the revered “Back in Black,” the fourth best-selling album of all time at 25 million copies.

Despite the tragic loss of Scott, AC/DC fans accepted Johnson immediately. There never was a competition as to which frontman was better among fans.

“I remember there was just a sea of posters saying, ‘R.I.P. Bon Scott,”’ Johnson recalled from his first live performance with AC/DC in a Howard Stern interview. “But right in the middle of it all was ‘Long Live Brian.’”

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, AC/DC was a well-oiled machine, releasing 10 albums with its classic lineup, comprising brothers and guitarists, Angus and Malcolm Young, vocalist Johnson, bassist Cliff Williams and drummer Phil Rudd, who took a break from the band in 1983 before rejoining in 1994.

In the 2000s and 2010s, AC/DC released three albums,  the last of these featuring Stevie Young filling in for his uncle Malcolm Young, who was battling dementia, a battle he’d end up losing in 2017.

With Johnson’s hearing loss, Malcolm Young’s passing and bassist Williams mulling over retirement, it seemed the band that had been playing together for 40 years would no longer be. That is until 2020, when the group released  “Power Up” as a tribute to Young.

“Power Up” saw the return of Johnson and Williams, who were joined by Malcolm’s younger brother Angus Young and Rudd to reunite the surviving members of the classic “Back in Black” lineup, as well as Stevie in Malcolm’s role as rhythm guitarist.

If “Back in Black” has Bon Scott all over it, for me, ‘Power Up’ has got Malcolm Young on it, this is for him,” Williams said on comedian Dean Delray’s podcast.

All writing credits on the album’s 11 tracks are given to Angus and Malcolm Young, who continued to write music together up until Malcolm’s passing.

“When (Malcolm Young) was first diagnosed with this condition, I said to him, ‘Do you want to keep going with this?’” Angus Young said in a Howard Stern interview. “He said, ‘Yeah, I’ll keep going until I can’t do it.’” 

With a new album, rumors began circulating about a potential tour to support the new music. Would fans ever get to see them play to a live audience again? And if so, when? 

The only band member to perform publicly in the last two years is Johnson, who in September 2022 performed live at the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert in London. Though not joined by the rest of the band, Johnson performed AC/DC’s hit song “Back in Black,” along with Lars Ulrich of Metallica on drums.

Fan’s questions were finally answered in April 2023 when the band announced it would be hitting the stage for the 2023 music festival “Power Trip” with a post on Instagram. A three-day event from Oct. 6-8, it included five other bands alongside AC/DC: Guns ‘N’ Roses, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Metallica and Tool.

If one word could describe AC/DC’s 2023 reunion, it’s resilience. In its sixth decade in the music industry, the band has stood the test of time and overcome a multitude of obstacles along the way such as retirement, health issues and death. 

If AC/DC’s 25-song performance at Power Trip proved anything, it’s that even in their 60s and 70s, the rock ‘n’ roll legends can still put on a show, and entertain their dedicated fanbase at a high level. 

What people in attendance witnessed on Oct. 7 wasn’t just a band playing live for an audience again; it was an exclamation point on what AC/DC’s entire existence has been about — a strong connection with its fans that have stuck with the band through thick and thin.