Punta Gorda's Gulf Theater is set to shake on Nov. 17 when Highway To Hell, a touring AC/DC tribute act, brings its all-live rendition of the Australian rock band's catalog to the stage. The show leans on more than two decades of touring experience and a frontman who has made a career out of channeling AC/DC's booming vocal legacy.
A Welsh Voice Channeling Australian Rock Royalty
The tribute is fronted by Welsh vocalist Martyn Jenkins, who portrays AC/DC singer Brian Johnson, according to yoursun.com. Promotional materials for the act describe Jenkins as a “powerhouse” frontman alongside Tim Hoyt, who takes on the role of guitarist Angus Young, as noted by maximumbands.com. Onstage, Angus Young's role famously includes a short-pants schoolboy uniform, a signature look the tribute carries into its own performances, per yoursun.com's report.
The band says it has been crisscrossing stages nationwide and abroad for more than 20 years. “For over 20 years Highway To Hell has traveled internationally and all over the USA,” the group states on highwaytohellrocks.com. That same promotional site also claims the band is the only AC/DC tribute whose members have shared the stage with AC/DC's Brian Johnson and Cliff Williams — an exclusivity claim that comes from the group's own promotional material and has not been independently verified elsewhere.
Built on AC/DC's Two-Era Catalog
AC/DC's history spans two distinct vocal eras that the tribute draws from directly. Bon Scott became the band's lead singer early in its career and sang hits including “Highway to Hell,” “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap” and “T.N.T.,” according to yoursun.com. Scott died of acute alcohol poisoning in 1980, after which Brian Johnson stepped in as lead singer and went on to release “Back in Black,” an album that became one of the best-selling records in music history, per the same report. AC/DC was formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm and Angus Young, later earning induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and winning its first Grammy Award, yoursun.com reports.
The tribute's own marketing describes its set list as spanning AC/DC's songs made famous by both Scott and Johnson, with highwaytohellrocks.com characterizing the material as covering “the entire 40 year career of AC/DC.” That account conflicts with a separate description from blabbermouth.net, which characterized a Highway To Hell performance as “a one to two hour rock show that includes all the hits songs and classics spanning 30 years of material.” The two accounts do not agree on the span of years represented, and the supplied record does not resolve the discrepancy.
An All-Live Show Built on Harmony
Highway To Hell is backed by supporting musicians performing music from AC/DC's classic albums live, yoursun.com reports. The band markets itself as “an all-live production with massive harmonies” in which “every member sings like a lead vocalist,” according to maximumbands.com. That same site notes the band says it was featured on AC/DC's official website for its role in a 2011 AC/DC festival in Peru, though that claim likewise stems from promotional material rather than independent confirmation.
The tribute has also turned up on other regional stages in recent memory. Blabbermouth reported that Highway To Hell was announced as an opening act for Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain's project, MCBrain Damage, across three Florida venues — the Freebird Café in Jacksonville, Boomerz in Tampa, and the Hard Rock Legends Theater in Hollywood. Separately, a promotion for a Highway to Hell appearance at the Island Showroom, posted by islandresortandcasino.com, advertised tickets for the show at $20.
For Punta Gorda audiences, the Nov. 17 date at Gulf Theater offers a chance to hear the dual-era AC/DC songbook delivered live by a band that has spent two decades building its reputation on the road.
