Only in Freo could you see “meditation and chanting” and “roving bogans” on the same line up. Highway to Hell has announced a stack of big names for the event that will see Perth Festival close 10km of Canning Highway and create the world’s longest stage – Perth’s playground for the day on Sunday, March 1. Highway to Hell celebrates Perth’s connection to Bon Scott, the original, Freo-raised frontman of legendary Aussie rock band, AC/DC. The moving concert will make its way from Canning Bridge to Fremantle.
Highway to Hell pays homage to the Acca Dacca’s It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll) music video, where the band played on the back of a truck while driving through the streets of Melbourne. The concert convoy will make its way through four zones and there will be more than 130 free activities and events all along the highway.
Local, interstate and international acts will belt out their versions of AC/DC classics from stages on eight semi-trailer trucks. From Aussie rock to Finnish folk, saltwater sounds to soulful strains, artists as diverse as Broome’s Pigram Brothers, Melbourne’s Amyl and the Sniffers, Japan’s Shonen Knife and WA’s Abbe May with The Southern River Band will give Scott the epic tribute he deserves.
Among a stack of unique collaborations on the day are Dan Sultan with members of the Perth Symphony Orchestra, Mojo Juju and the WAAPA Gospel Choir, and Perth’s mass Air Guitar World Record Attempt. There will also be roving street performers, live bands, high voltage performance poets, community choirs, dance troupes, kids’ activities, special meal offerings and exhibitions.
Apart from the Canning Bridge and Tompkins Park zones, there will also be entertainment in The Valley zone which runs from Stock Road to Petra Street in Palmyra, and The Rainbow zone from May Street in East Fremantle to the sea container ‘rainbow’ between Stirling Highway bridge and the Queen Victoria Street bridge in Fremantle. Transperth will provide shuttle buses from Bull Creek, Murdoch University (operating as a Park & Ride) and Fremantle Train Station.
Highway to Hell will make its way along Canning Highway, passing through four zones, starting at 4pm on Sunday, March 1. More details of Perth Festival and Highway to Hell, including maps, schedules and transport tips here.
