Australian motorway to close for rolling AC/DC tribute concert on the actual ‘Highway To Hell’

Amyl and the Sniffers and more will play on Canning Highway to mark the 40th anniversary of Bon Scott’s death

10km of an Australian motorway will close next March to host a rolling AC/DC tribute concert.

The event comes to mark 40 years since the death of the band’s vocalist Bon Scott.

On March 1 2020, the Canning Highway, the motorway Scott would travel down regularly in his youth, will close between Canning Bridge and Fremantle to play host to the world’s longest festival stage, featuring 8 bands playing AC/DC covers, including Amyl and the Sniffers, Shonen Knife and more.

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The 10km stretch of motorway that will close is known as the real Highway To Hell, named after a series of fatal crashes along the stretch and immortalised in the band’s iconic 1979 album.

The event looks set to mimic AC/DC’s video for ‘It’s A Long Way To The Top’, which saw them playing on the back of a truck as it rode through Melbourne.

The event comes as part of the 2020 Perth Festival, and artistic director Iain Grandage told The Guardian about his plans for the show.

“The kicker was when we found out that the [festival closing] date was 40 years to the day,” he said, with matching up with the anniversary of Scott’s ashes arriving at Fremantle Cemetery.

“It was like, ‘We just have to do this’, despite the ridiculous size of it.”

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Speaking of the music set to be played, Grandage said: “Covers feels like a dirty word. These will be more like creative responses.”

Earlier this year, Brian Johnson said that he will “absolutely” tour again with AC/DC, after he was forced to quit the band in 2016 after suffering hearing loss.

There is also a new AC/DC and Eagles supergroup on the way, with Johnson and Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh confirming that they’ve been in the studio together.

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