AC/DC has enlisted drummer Matt Laug to join them onstage for the upcoming Power Trip festival taking place next month in Indio, California
This highly anticipated event features AC/DC as one of the headlining acts and marks the iconic Australian band’s first live performance since 2016.
Earlier today (Saturday, September 9), the band shared a short audio snippet from the rehearsal sessions for Power Trip, and it included the following message: “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.”
Matt Laug, a 55-year-old American drummer, boasts an impressive musical resume having collaborated with various prominent artists and groups, including Alanis Morissette, Alice Cooper, SLASH’S SNAKEPIT, and Vasco Rossi. After graduating from South Florence High School in 1986, Laug relocated to Los Angeles and pursued further education in the city. Over the years, he became a sought-after studio drummer. Notably, in 2001, Laug provided his drumming talents to AC/DC during the North American and European legs of the “Stiff Upper Lip” tour as a member of SLASH’S SNAKEPIT.
Curiously, the band’s announcement regarding Matt Laug‘s inclusion in the lineup did not offer any explanation for the absence of their longtime drummer, Phil Rudd. Rudd had reunited with the group for the recording of the band’s comeback album, “Power Up,” which was released in November 2020.
Rudd‘s departure from AC/DC stemmed from legal troubles in 2015 when he was sentenced to eight months of home detention by a New Zealand court. This followed his guilty plea to charges of making threats to kill and drug possession. During this period, Chris Slade took over as the drummer for the group’s “Rock Or Bust” tour. Chris Slade had previously served as the band’s drummer from 1989 to 1994, contributing to the album “The Razor’s Edge.”
Rudd, who had been a part of nearly all of the group’s 18 previous studio albums, embarked on a tour to promote his solo debut album, “Head Job,” in 2014. Ironically, it was the release of this album that indirectly led to Rudd‘s legal troubles, as he allegedly made threats against a personal assistant due to dissatisfaction with the album’s promotion, including threats against the assistant and his daughter’s safety.
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