Camp Randall Stadium is accustomed to shaking beneath the feet of tens of thousands of Wisconsin football fans. On Sunday, July 19, however, the noise coming from Madison’s most famous stadium will be powered by electric guitars, cannon fire and one of rock music’s most unmistakable voices.
AC/DC will bring its massive POWER UP Tour to Camp Randall for a 7 p.m. concert, with Taylor Momsen and The Pretty Reckless opening the evening. The stadium performance will mark AC/DC’s first Madison concert in approximately 25 years, following the band’s May 2001 appearance at the Kohl Center.
For Wisconsin rock fans, it is a long-awaited return from a band built for venues of this size.
AC/DC’s music has always sounded enormous. The opening guitar notes of “Back in Black,” the slow toll introducing “Hells Bells” and the rapid-fire riff of “Thunderstruck” were made to travel across football fields and through the upper decks of stadiums. At Camp Randall, the Australian rock legends will have one of the region’s largest stages on which to deliver them.
The concert is part of an extended 2026 run of the POWER UP Tour, named after AC/DC’s 2020 album. The current touring lineup features guitarist Angus Young, vocalist Brian Johnson, rhythm guitarist Stevie Young, drummer Matt Laug and bassist Chris Chaney. The Madison show is one of 18 North American stadium dates scheduled between July and September.
While the tour takes its name from the band’s most recent studio album, fans should expect the evening to function primarily as a celebration of AC/DC’s enormous catalog.
At the band’s most recent Mexico City performance, AC/DC opened with “If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)” before moving immediately into “Back in Black.” The more than two-hour set also included “Thunderstruck,” “Hells Bells,” “Highway to Hell,” “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap,” “You Shook Me All Night Long” and “Whole Lotta Rosie.” Newer tracks “Demon Fire” and “Shot in the Dark” gave POWER UP a place alongside the classics.
The night’s expected final stretch is particularly difficult to beat. Recent shows have featured an extended Angus Young guitar solo during “Let There Be Rock,” followed by an encore of “T.N.T.” and “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You).”
AC/DC has also preserved the theatrical elements that have made its concerts spectacles for generations. Fans can anticipate the massive bell associated with “Hells Bells,” an inflatable Rosie, pyrotechnics and the traditional cannons that punctuate “For Those About to Rock.”
At the center of it all remains Young, whose schoolboy uniform, Gibson SG guitar and restless movement across the stage have become inseparable from the band itself. Brian Johnson’s sandpaper howl provides the other half of AC/DC’s most recognizable image, delivering songs that have remained staples of rock radio, sporting events and packed arenas for decades.
The Camp Randall concert will also feature a substantial opening performance from The Pretty Reckless. Fronted by Momsen, the New York hard rock group has become a familiar touring partner for AC/DC after supporting previous European and North American legs of the POWER UP Tour. The Pretty Reckless will open every date on AC/DC’s 2026 North American run.
Their inclusion makes this more than a brief warm-up followed by the headliner. The Pretty Reckless have developed their own formidable rock audience through songs including “Heaven Knows” and a live sound that should translate naturally to Camp Randall’s stadium setting.
Camp Randall only recently reestablished itself as a major concert destination after a lengthy absence from hosting large-scale music events. Following three stadium concerts during the summer of 2025, AC/DC will continue that momentum with a show whose sound, scale and production seem ideally suited to the venue.
For longtime fans, July 19 offers an increasingly rare opportunity to see one of rock’s defining bands perform its catalog with the full stadium production those songs deserve. For younger listeners, it may be the first—and potentially only—chance to hear “Back in Black,” “Highway to Hell” and “Thunderstruck” performed by AC/DC itself.
Either way, earplugs are probably a wise investment.
Limited tickets remain available through Wisconsin Athletics, with the official ticketing page currently listing seats beginning at $79. Doors are scheduled to open at 5:30 p.m., with the concert beginning at 7 p.m.
AC/DC with The Pretty Reckless
Sunday, July 19, 2026
Camp Randall Stadium — Madison, Wisconsin
Doors: 5:30 p.m. | Show: 7 p.m.
