Rock or Bust World Tour

The Rock or Bust World Tour was a 2015–2016 concert tour by the Australian rock band AC/DC, in support of their sixteenth studio album Rock or Bust, which was released on 28 November 2014. This tour had 7 legs around the world lasting more than 17 months starting on 10 April 2015 in Indio, California and finishing on 20 September 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Rock or Bust World Tour

Tour by AC/DC
Promotional poster for the tour
Location	Australia Europe New Zealand North America
Associated album	Rock or Bust
Start date	10 April 2015
End date	20 September 2016
Legs	7
No. of shows	88
Supporting acts	Vintage Trouble The Hives Kingswood Shihad Villainy Tyler Bryant & the Shakedown Black Box Revelation Doctor Victor Massendefekt
Box office	$301.3 million[a][2]
AC/DC concert chronology

Background

Malcolm Young was replaced by his and Angus' nephew Stevie Young and Phil Rudd was replaced by their former drummer Chris Slade. They have both played for AC/DC on the Blow Up Your Video World Tour and the Razors Edge World Tour, respectively.

In Germany, the band set a new world record in the number of sold tickets within the shortest timespan, with more than 300,000 tickets sold out in seventy-seven minutes.^[3]

In Switzerland, AC/DC set another new record in the duration to a 'sold out' concert. The concert in Zurich was sold out in 6 minutes (over 40,000 tickets)^[4]

AC/DC played at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, performing "Rock or Bust" and "Highway to Hell" on 8 February 2015.^[5]

The last 22 shows were rescheduled as Brian Johnson was ordered to stop touring immediately.^[6] Ten shows from 8 March 2016 to 4 April 2016 were cancelled and had to be rescheduled,^[7] with Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses appearing in Johnson's place^[8] marking first time that AC/DC has featured a lead vocalist other than Brian Johnson since they concluded the Highway to Hell Tour on 27 January 1980.

As part of this tour, AC/DC performed the first concert at the Olympic Stadium in London since its redevelopment following the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.^[9]

Longtime bassist Cliff Williams announced that he would retire upon completion of the tour, citing losing interest following the health issues with Malcolm Young and Brian Johnson, and the legal issues with Phil Rudd.^[10]

The band broke their normal routine at the end of the final concert, with Young leading Williams out to the front of the stage to take a final bow. Axl Rose also introduced the band members one by one.^[11]

Johnson, Rudd, and Williams later returned to the band.^[12]

Grossing

The Rock or Bust World Tour was the second most attended tour of 2015 behind One Direction and third highest-grossing tour behind Taylor Swift and One Direction (Pollstar Year End Top 100 Worldwide tours of 2015). The tour grossed $180 million from 54 shows in 2015.^[13] and $40.1 million from 32 shows in 2016.^[14] There was a total gross of $221.1 million from 86 shows performed. 2.31 million fans attended the tour's 2015 dates and the band played to an estimated 4 million fans worldwide for the entire tour.^[15]

Set list

AC/DC performing in Tacoma, Washington on 2 February 2016.

AC/DC with Axl Rose performing the first concert at the Olympic Stadium in London, on 4 June 2016.

1. "Rock or Bust"
2. "Shoot to Thrill"
3. "Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be"
4. "Back in Black"
5. "Play Ball"^[a]
6. "Got Some Rock & Roll Thunder"^[b]
7. "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap"
8. "Rock 'n' Roll Damnation"^[b]
9. "Thunderstruck"
10. "High Voltage"
11. "Rock 'n' Roll Train"
12. "Hells Bells"
13. "Baptism by Fire"^[a]
14. "Givin' the Dog a Bone"^[b]
15. "Dog Eat Dog"^[b]
16. "If You Want Blood (You've Got It)"^[b]
17. "Touch Too Much"^[b]
18. "Live Wire"^[b]
19. "Sin City"
20. "You Shook Me All Night Long"
21. "Shot Down in Flames"
22. "Have a Drink on Me"
23. "T.N.T."
24. "Whole Lotta Rosie"
25. "Let There Be Rock" (including Angus Young's guitar solo)

Encore

26. "Highway to Hell"
27. "Riff Raff"^[b]
28. "Problem Child"^[b]
29. "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)"

Notes

• a. ^ Played only in 2015.
• b. ^ Played only in 2016.

Tour dates

List of 2015 concerts^{[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]}

Date (2015)	City	Country	Venue	Opening act	Attendance	Revenue
10 April[b]	Indio	United States	Empire Polo Club	—	198,000 / 198,000	$28,088,088
17 April[b]
5 May	Arnhem	Netherlands	GelreDome	Vintage Trouble	—	—
8 May	Nuremberg	Germany	Zeppelinfeld		—	—
10 May	Dresden		Ostragehege		—	—
14 May	Zeltweg	Austria	Red Bull Ring		—	—
16 May	Hockenheim	Germany	Hockenheimring		—	—
19 May	Munich		Olympiastadion		—	—
21 May
23 May	Paris	France	Stade de France		—	—
26 May
29 May	Barcelona	Spain	Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys		—	—
31 May	Madrid		Vicente Calderón Stadium		—	—
2 June
5 June	Zürich	Switzerland	Letzigrund Stadion		—	—
7 June
19 June	Cologne	Germany	Jahnwiesen		—	—
21 June	Hanover		Hanover Fairground		—	—
25 June	Berlin		Olympiastadion		—	—
28 June	Glasgow	Scotland	Hampden Park		50,335 / 50,335	$5,126,269
1 July	Dublin	Ireland	Aviva Stadium		—	—
4 July	London	England	Wembley Stadium		—	—
6 July	Dessel	Belgium	Festivalpark Stenehei		—	—
9 July	Imola	Italy	Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari		90,034 / 90,034	$7,482,298
12 July	Gelsenkirchen	Germany	Veltins-Arena		—	—
15 July	Roskilde	Denmark	Roskilde Festival Site		—	—
17 July	Oslo	Norway	Valle Hovin		—	—
19 July	Stockholm	Sweden	Friends Arena		—	—
22 July	Hämeenlinna	Finland	Kantola Event Park		55,000 / 55,000	$5,016,055
25 July	Warsaw	Poland	National Stadium		—	—
22 August	Foxborough	United States	Gillette Stadium		—	—
26 August	East Rutherford		MetLife Stadium		48,881 / 50,000	$4,492,251
28 August	Quebec City	Canada	Plains of Abraham		48,588 / 58,000	$4,047,480
31 August	Montreal		Olympic Stadium		36,917 / 46,100	$3,238,650
3 September	Ottawa		TD Place Stadium		—	—
5 September	Moncton		Magnetic Hill Concert Site		—	—
8 September	Detroit	United States	Ford Field		—	—
10 September	Toronto	Canada	Downsview Park		—	—
15 September	Chicago	United States	Wrigley Field		29,732 / 29,732	$3,024,480
17 September	Winnipeg	Canada	Investors Group Field		—	—
20 September	Edmonton		Commonwealth Stadium		—	—
22 September	Vancouver		BC Place		—	—
25 September	San Francisco	United States	AT&T Park		46,167 / 46,167	$4,446,189
28 September	Los Angeles		Dodger Stadium		46,215 / 46,215	$3,975,040
4 November	Sydney	Australia	ANZ Stadium	The Hives Kingswood	—	—
7 November
12 November	Brisbane		Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre		—	—
14 November
21 November	Adelaide		Adelaide Oval		42,384 / 42,384	$3,950,376
27 November	Perth		Domain Stadium		—	—
29 November
6 December	Melbourne		Docklands Stadium		—	—
8 December
12 December	Wellington	New Zealand	Westpac Stadium	Shihad Villainy	—	—
15 December	Auckland		Western Springs Stadium		—	—

List of 2016 concerts^[24][25][26]

Date (2016)	City	Country	Venue	Opening act	Attendance	Revenue
2 February	Tacoma	United States	Tacoma Dome	Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown	21,337 / 21,337	$2,544,102
5 February	Paradise		MGM Grand Garden Arena		13,817 / 13,817	$1,416,474
8 February	Denver		Pepsi Center		—	—
11 February	Fargo		Fargodome		19,308 / 19,308	$2,049,080
14 February	Saint Paul		Xcel Energy Center		14,858 / 14,858	$2,010,470
17 February	Chicago		United Center		13,773 / 13,773	$1,696,155
20 February	St. Louis		Scottrade Center		13,985 / 14,320	$1,520,878
23 February	Dallas		American Airlines Center		13,727 / 14,391	$1,519,861
26 February	Houston		Toyota Center		—	—
28 February [c]	Kansas City		Sprint Center		13,146 / 13,146	$1,612,754
7 May	Lisbon	Portugal	Passeio Marítimo de Algés		—	—
10 May	Seville	Spain	Estadio de La Cartuja		—	—
13 May	Marseille	France	Stade Vélodrome		—	—
16 May	Werchter	Belgium	Werchter Festival Ground	Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown Black Box Revelation	—	—
19 May	Vienna	Austria	Ernst-Happel-Stadion	Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown	—	—
22 May	Prague	Czech Republic	Letnany Airport	Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown Doctor Victor	—	—
26 May	Hamburg	Germany	Volksparkstadion	Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown	—	—
29 May	Bern	Switzerland	Stade de Suisse		—	—
1 June	Leipzig	Germany	Red Bull Arena		—	—
4 June	London	England	Olympic Stadium		—	—
9 June	Manchester		City of Manchester Stadium		—	—
12 June	Aarhus	Denmark	Ceres Park		—	—
15 June	Düsseldorf	Germany	Esprit Arena	Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown Massendefekt	—	—
27 August [d]	Greensboro	United States	Greensboro Coliseum	Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown	12,320 / 13,898	$1,268,400
30 August [e]	Sunrise		BB&T Center		11,930 / 12,944	$1,263,029
1 September [f]	Atlanta		Philips Arena		11,173 / 13,012	$1,169,355
4 September [g]	Columbus		Nationwide Arena		11,032 / 15,771	$1,366,460
6 September [h]	Cleveland		Quicken Loans Arena		8,355 / 9,113	$901,870
9 September [i]	Auburn Hills		The Palace of Auburn Hills		7,897 / 12,626	$904,984
11 September [j]	Buffalo		KeyBank Center		—	—
14 September [k]	New York City		Madison Square Garden		13,737 / 13,737	$1,555,320
17 September [l]	Washington, D.C.		Verizon Center		11,708 / 14,182	$1,423,688
20 September [m]	Philadelphia		Wells Fargo Center		14,089 / 14,089	$1,216,141
Total					—	$221,100,000

Personnel

• Brian Johnson – lead vocals (April 10, 2015–February 28, 2016)
• Angus Young – lead guitar
• Cliff Williams – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Stevie Young – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Chris Slade – drums

Additional musicians

• Axl Rose – lead vocals (May 7–September 20, 2016)

Notes

1. $394.76 million in 2024 dollars.^[1]
2. These shows were a part of Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
3. This show was originally scheduled for 29 February 2016, but has been pushed back to the previous day to allow vocalist Brian Johnson to attend a funeral of a close friend.
4. This show from 27 August 2016 was originally scheduled for 14 March 2016, but was postponed due to Brian Johnson being told by the doctors to stop touring immediately or risk of total hearing loss.^[27]
5. This show from 30 August 2016 was originally scheduled for 11 March 2016, but was postponed due to Brian Johnson being told by the doctors to stop touring immediately or risk of total hearing loss.^[27]
6. This show from 1 September 2016 was originally scheduled for 14 March 2016, but was postponed due to Brian Johnson being told by the doctors to stop touring immediately or risk of total hearing loss.^[27]
7. This show from 4 September 2016 was originally scheduled for 23 March 2016, but was postponed due to Brian Johnson being told by the doctors to stop touring immediately or risk of total hearing loss.^[27]
8. This show from 6 September 2016 was originally scheduled for 26 March 2016, but was postponed due to Brian Johnson being told by the doctors to stop touring immediately or risk of total hearing loss.^[27]
9. This show from 9 September 2016 was originally scheduled for 20 March 2016, but was postponed due to Brian Johnson being told by the doctors to stop touring immediately or risk of total hearing loss.^[27]
10. This show from 11 September 2016 was originally scheduled for 29 March 2016, but was postponed due to Brian Johnson being told by the doctors to stop touring immediately or risk of total hearing loss.^[27]
11. This show from 14 September 2016 was originally scheduled for 4 April 2016, but was postponed due to Brian Johnson being told by the doctors to stop touring immediately or risk of total hearing loss.^[27]
12. This show from 6 September 2016 was originally scheduled for 17 March 2016, but was postponed due to Brian Johnson being told by the doctors to stop touring immediately or risk of total hearing loss.^[27]
13. This show from 6 September 2016 was originally scheduled for 1 April 2016, but was postponed due to Brian Johnson being told by the doctors to stop touring immediately or risk of total hearing loss.^[27]