If you’re an AC/DC fan, you might want to head over to WA next year, where the Perth Festival is set to turn the Canning Highway into a 10km stage for a Bon Scott tribute.
It’s hard to believe, but next February marks 40 years since the world lost Aussie music legend, and former AC/DC frontman, Bon Scott.
Born in Scotland and raised in Fremantle, Bon Scott found himself dabbling with music in his teenage years before joining AC/DC as their iconic frontman in 1974. Although his tenure with the band was short, Scott fronted a number of the group’s legendary albums, including Highway To Hell, his final studio effort.
Sadly, February 19th, 1980 saw Scott pass away after a night of heavy drinking, putting an end to an era of AC/DC’s history, and eventually leading to their widespread success after recruiting Brian Johnson as their new frontman.
Now though, as we near the 40th anniversary of his passing, Western Australia’s Perth Festival is set to premiere the world’s largest stage when they close part of the Canning Highway for a massive ‘Highway To Hell’ tribute concert.
Check out ‘Thunderstruck’ by Steve ‘n’ Seagulls:
Taking place on March 1st, 2020 as a free closer to the Perth Festival, the Canning Highway will be closed from the Raffles Hotel to the Old Fremantle Traffic Bridge for a Bon Scott tribute.
Noting that the iconic frontman was said to have taken inspiration for ‘Highway To Hell’ from that very stretch, festival artistic director Iain Grandage explained that Scott had walked the highway from Leopold Hotel in Palmyra to Fremantle where AC/DC would deliver blistering live sets at the Raffles Hotel.
“Now we’re closing the highway, all 10km of it, for one special day designed for families and fans alike,” he explained.
“The idea of closing down the highway to celebrate a favourite son is an exciting way to celebrate our city and bring the curtain down on the 2020 festival.
“Everyone is invited. As Bon Scott sings in the song that inspired this event, ‘And all my friends are gonna be there too’.”
So what’s exactly on offer? Well, it all kicks off at 5pm that afternoon with a convoy of flatbed trucks providing a bunch of moving stages for local, interstate and international musicians as they dish out classic tracks from AC/DC.
Promising genres as diverse as Finnish folk, punters will be able to see the likes of the Pigram Brothers, Amyl And The Sniffers, Steve ‘n’ Seagulls, Shonen Knife (who are already in the country as we speak) and even the Perth Symphony Orchestra dishing out their versions of AC/DC’s iconic tunes.
It all takes place as part of the Perth Festival in March of 2020, so be sure to head to the official website for details ahead of their full program release next week.
Check out ‘Highway To Hell’ by AC/DC:
