AC/DC’s New Lineup to Debut at Coachella This Weekend
Months after bringing their new-look lineup to one of the world's biggest stages by playing a couple of numbers at the Grammy Awards, the 2015 edition of AC/DC will make their full-length debut as Coachella headliners April 10-12.
As previously reported, this year's Coachella bill is also scheduled to include performances by an eclectic roster of acts that includes Steely Dan and Jack White — and continuing a tradition that stretches back five years, YouTube will stream the whole thing free of charge.
Variety notes that the deal, which makes Coachella the longest-running live-streamed music festival on YouTube, allows for three live-streaming channels that feature automatic updates, information about the acts and an interactive map of the grounds.
AC/DC's set is welcome news for fans eager for the band's 2015 tour to begin, but their presence at the historically indie-leaning festival has come under fire in some quarters — something Coachella co-founder Paul Tollett laughed off during an interview with the Desert Sun by joking that the fest's lineup has "jumped the shark now 11 years in a row, according to the press, but not according to the people who hit me up to buy tickets."
AC/DC's tour (which is already bringing in big bucks on the secondary market) comes in support of their new album Rock or Bust, and finds the band soldiering on after the health-mandated retirement of co-founding guitarist Malcolm Young and the shocking legal woes of drummer Phil Rudd. Young's spot is being held by his nephew Stevie, while Rudd has been replaced by former AC/DC drummer Chris Slade. Singer Brian Johnson, bassist Cliff Williams and lead guitarist Angus Young complete the group's current lineup.
Tollett, for one, doesn't expect the changes to affect the band's performance at all. "We want to try some fun new things, and AC/DC, no one can argue that they're one of the best bands live," he told the Desert Sun. "If you're a festival promoter, you've got to try to go for the ultimate."
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