AC/DC tribute band Halfway to Hell will rock the West Penn Rod & Gun Club, located on Clamtown Road, Tamaqua, with dual lead singers during an outdoor show Saturday.

The concert event, set to start at 6:30 p.m., will also feature opening act The Local Boys, a classic-rock and oldies band.

Formed in 2013 and based in northeast Pennsylvania, Halfway to Hell features vocalists Forrest Bonscott and Hugh Wygman in the roles of Bon Scott and Brian Johnson, respectively.

Bonscott, also band manager, goes by said name as a nod to the late Scott, who sang lead on AC/DC classics such as “It’s a Long Way to the Top,” “T.N.T.” and “Whole Lotta Rosie.”

Following Scott’s passing in 1980, AC/DC - formed in 1973 in Sydney, Australia - recruited Johnson as frontman. The megaselling “Back in Black,” which houses tracks such as “You Shook Me All Night Long” and “Hell’s Bells,” was Johnson’s first AC/DC project.

“They are different guys, with different voices,” Bonscott said. “So I wanted to cover them as such. One of the most common compliments that we get is that we cover both singers.

“People tell me that other bands try to cover both Brian and Bon with one singer,” he continued, “but it is not as accurate. I have only seen a couple other bands in the world use the two-singer lineup. Why pay an extra guy when you can get by with one? We have two.”

Aside from Bonscott and Wygman, Halfway to Hell’s lineup includes Joe Zanetti on bass; Kevin Palmer on rhythm guitar, Tony Harlan on lead guitar, and Jay Brotter on drums. The band has members from all over Pennsylvania and one from Binghamton, New York.

Residing in Wilkes-Barre, Bonscott counts Elvis Presley, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Alvin Lee and Stevie Ray Vaughn as his primary influences. Prior to Halfway to Hell, he played in the band Prowler from 1988 to 2000.

Forming the band

“In the beginning, we looked for singers, but did not have luck finding any that fit the bill,” he said. “In the meantime, I started singing a couple songs, and before I knew it, I was singing most of the night.”

When singing, “I heard comments that everything sounded good, but the other bands that we covered - other than AC/DC - also sounded like Bon Scott was singing them. So we started covering more and more AC/DC.”

With Bonscott’s love for AC/DC “and the fact that my natural singing voice happened to sound like Bon Scott, it was an easy decision to form a band that gave tribute to AC/DC. I also played with Priest/DC, a tribute to AC/DC and Judas Priest.”

In naming the band, Bonscott decided on Halfway to Hell “because too many tribute bands use a song name as their band name. Many bands are not easy to find on an internet search. There may be many named the same name in the world, which makes it more confusing.”

Thus, Bonscott opted for a twist on “Highway to Hell, one of AC/DC’s Scott-sung classics. “If you search Halfway to Hell, we come right up. Just one of us and we are trademarked.”

The right mix

When starting the band, Bonscott faced many challenges. For instance, the misconception among fans and musicians that it’s easy to play AC/DC songs.

“It is easy to fake an AC/DC song and play it improperly,“ he said. “It is difficult to play it the way AC/DC plays it, and get the sound and the feel correct. So finding the right guys is not as easy as one would think.”

Finding people with the right energy presented another challenge. Bonscott used guitarist Palmer as an example.

“He is your local guy from Nesquehoning who plays the Malcolm Young part,“ he said. “Kevin goes to great lengths to play the songs the way that Malcolm played them, and on top of that, has the exact energy needed to play the role.”

Lineup

Halfway to Hell, when performing, has “a bunch of AC/DC songs that we alternate,” Bonscott said. “In certain venues, when appropriate, we will put a couple non-AC/DC songs into the mix. Songs like ‘Metal Health,’ ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine,’ ‘Ain’t Talkin’ ’bout Love.”

While Bonscott had difficulty choosing his favorite AC/DC songs, he did mention an album that rocks his heart out.

“One of the favorite albums of the old-school die-hard AC/DC fans is ‘Powerage,’ a very underrated album. If you like AC/DC and don’t have this album, get it.”

Bonscott - who attended AC/DC concerts from the 1980s up through 2000 - believes AC/DC’s legacy “is the test of time and how well-known they are for so many years without changing their style. Also, they have had a huge influence on other rock bands and rock music.”

AC/DC’s act had such an impact on Bonscott that, aside from Halfway to Hell, he counts his affiliation with Priest/DC as a major music-career highlight.

“Playing in a rock band in California, with Scott Travis from Judas Priest and Jeff Martin from Badlands and RacerX, was very cool. Playing for a couple crowds of over 5,000 has also been quite a rush.”