Bio

   The Back in Black tribute band is an incredible, exciting, high energy reproduction of a concert performance of AC/DC . All the members of Back in Black live in Dallas/Fort Worth area and are experienced musicians not only dedicated to the sound and look, but also capturing the power and excitement of AC/DC. We stand above the other AC/DC tributes because we include tribute performances of both Bon Scott and Brian Johnson.
The Back in Black tribute band is an incredible, exciting, high-energy reproduction of a concert performance of AC/DC. All the members of Back in Black live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and are experienced musicians not only dedicated to the sound and look, but also capturing the power and excitement of AC/DC. We stand above the other AC/DC tributes because our singer auditioned for AC/DC in 2016, and we include tribute performances of both Bon Scott and Brian Johnson.

Back in Black was formed in late 2000 by former LA bandmates Mike Mroz (Angus) and Darren Caperna (Bon & Brian). Mike had always recognized the potential of this project due to Darren’s uncanny ability to transcend both the spirit of Bon Scott and Brian Johnson into his voice. Paul Brown (drums), Ramiro Noriega (guitar), and Steven Wilson (bass) were recruited from other great Dallas bands. In March of 2016, AC/DC auditioned lead singer Darren Caperna to replace Brian Johnson for their current world tour. This experience and their history are shared in the release of “My Stupid Tribute Band”, an award-winning music documentary released in 2023 on Amazon Prime, Roku, AppleTV+, YouTube and Tubi. The film premiered at the legendary Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, CA, and was number one on Amazon for four weeks in the music category!

In November of 2025, four members of Back in Black appeared and featured in Netflix’s most successful global reality competition series, “Squid Game: The Challenge” Season 2. Mike Mroz, Ramiro Noriega, Steven Wilson and Paul Brown were flown to London earlier in the year to film the series and will incorporate elements into a special production for a few of their live shows in 2026.

Back in Black was one of the first tribute bands chosen by Live Nation/CBS Radio to tour all the House of Blues across the country! They were featured on AXS TV’s “World’s Greatest Tribute Bands”, performed a symphony concert with the Calgary Philharmonic, and headlined major arenas.

For five years in a row they headlined the World’s Largest Tribute Festival, “Jacks Throwback” in Dallas. They also performed to over 36,000 people at the Bone Bash in Ft Worth, and were recruited by Sony Music, AC/DC’s record label, to promote catalog sales. 20th Century Fox have chosen Back in Black over all other tribute bands to record AC/DC’s classics “TNT” and “A Long Way to the Top” for two of their movies, Napoleon Dynamite and Garage Days. Back in Black has also performed with Cheap Trick, Foghat, Bad Company, Loverboy, Jackyl, Blue Oyster Cult, Grand Funk Railroad, Living Colour, Ted Nugent, Warrant, April Wine, Great White, Night Ranger, Kansas, Quiet Riot, Badfinger and Vince Neil of Motley Crue.

Back in Black is:
Darren Caperna – Vocals
Mike Mroz – Lead Guitar
Steven Wilson – Bass
Ramiro Noriega – Guitar
Paul Brown – Drums
Back in Black is:
Darren Caperna – Vocals
Mike Mroz – Lead Guitar
Steven Wilson – Bass
Ramiro Noriega – Guitar
Paul Brown – Drums

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – March 24, 2016
AC/DC auditions singer from Dallas based tribute band  Back In Black

DALLAS, TEXAS – Dallas-based AC/DC tribute band BACK IN BLACK, is proud to announce that long-time front man Darren Caperna was selected by AC/DC to audition as their potential new vocalist!

The audition took place the week of March 14th at a private rehearsal studio in Atlanta. Caperna was contacted by AC/DC via phone and was immediately flown out by the band. Joining him was founding Back in Black member and guitarist Mike Mroz.

The audition began with a sound check which consisted of the ac/dc tech crew performing a couple of songs with Caperna, to set levels, and to help him feel more comfortable. Then after a short break, AC/DC came in the room and greeted both Caperna and Mroz.  “After the sound check , Darren and I were talking to the guitar techs, and all of a sudden I look over my shoulder and Angus Young was standing behind me waiting to say hi!” said Mroz.

After meeting the band, and having some tea, AC/DC put Caperna to work. The 3-4 song audition turned into a 21 song concert. Caperna ended up singing the entire Rock or Bust Tour set, plus two additional songs that Angus wanted to play, Dog Eat Dog, and Riff Raff.  Caperna comments “Before we started Riff Raff, Angus came up to me and apologized in advance saying that they may mess up this song! Did I just hear Angus apologizing to me?!”

Mroz and Caperna spent over 4 hours with their musical heroes.  Caperna states “ It was all so surreal, we had a couple of  breaks and Angus told me some great Bon Scott stories., they were all so friendly, I still can’t believe I  sang with AC/DC!”

Caperna adds “Even though I did not get the job, it was the experience of a lifetime!  Being in a tribute band for 16 years, we were hoping we would be able to meet them someday, but this goes way beyond our expectations. Now I have a great story to tell my grandkids and my guitar students that I teach at For Those About To Rock School in Southlake, TX.

“This experience was so inspiring and educational, plus I had my own private AC/DC concert fronted by my singer” Mroz continues “At the end of the night I saw Angus outside and he told me Darren had done a great job. I thanked him again for the opportunity. I told him that when I first started our tribute band (Back in Black) I was a little uncomfortable wearing his trademark schoolboy outfit, but then I realized it drove the girls crazy.”  Angus laughed and replied “Don’t tell anyone our secret!”