GAYC/DC Are Bringing Their All-Gay AC/DC Tribute to Australia

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Published January 15, 2026 by Emily S

GAYC/DC will tour Australia for the first time this February, reworking AC/DC classics through unapologetic queer celebration.

There are tribute bands built on accuracy, and then there are tribute bands built on ideas. GAYC/DC sit firmly in the second camp. This February, the self-described world’s first and only all-gay tribute to AC/DC will tour Australia for the first time, bringing their high-voltage reinterpretation of one of rock’s most iconic catalogues to six cities.

Founded by Christopher Freeman, best known as the bassist for queercore pioneers Pansy Division, alongside drummer Brian Welch, GAYC/DC take the music of AC/DC and reframe it through unapologetic queer expression. At first glance, filtering one of rock’s most masculine institutions through glitter, leather, and sexual honesty sounds like a novelty. In practice, it lands as something sharper and more considered, because the band takes the source material seriously.

That seriousness has earned them respect well beyond the novelty label often attached to tribute acts. Their reworks are playful but deliberate. ‘Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap’ becomes ‘Dirty Dudes (Done Dirt Cheap)’, while ‘Bad Boy Boogie’ is transformed into ‘Gay Boy Boogie’. The latter track’s video pays homage to Twisted Sister’s ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’, complete with approval from Dee Snider himself, who said, “I think this is great!”

Even their take on AC/DC’s ‘Highway to Hell’ reflects how seriously the project is taken within rock circles, featuring guest appearances from Johnny Martin of L.A. Guns, John Bush of Armored Saint and former Anthrax vocalist, and dUg Pinnick of King’s X. While GAYC/DC’s visuals lean into campiness in all the ways you might expect, the playing never does.

For the Australian tour, Freeman and Welch are joined by bassist Glen Pavan, guitarist Topher Ruby, and lead guitarist Steve McKnight, known to hard rock fans from his work with Cry Wolf. The run will hit intimate venues across the country in February.