A decade after Chris Stapleton first served as Guns N’ Roses’ opening act, the country singer joined the band onstage during their Toronto concert Wednesday to perform “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.”
Stapleton and Axl Rose shared lead vocals on GNR’s rendition
of the Bob Dylan classic, with Stapleton — in town for his own Toronto show Thursday night at Rogers Stadium, the same venue as GNR’s gig — also providing rhythm guitar as Slash embarked on a lengthier-than-usual solo:
Roughly a decade ago, Stapleton served as Guns N’ Roses one-off opener at the band’s concert at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium concert in July 2016. “When I was a kid, if you’d have told me I’d be up here playing before Guns N’ Roses, I’d have called you a liar,” Stapleton told the crowd that night.
In addition to winning over GNR fans, Stapleton was also “summoned” backstage to meet Rose himself, who he called “a gentleman.” “[Rose] was great. Very polite and gracious and we got to say hi for a few minutes,” Stapleton told Rolling Stone in July 2016. “I’m sure he was tired and had to go get cleaned up before the buses or planes rolled out, but he was a gentleman and we had a brief conversation about music and both went on our way. It was a good night.”
Stapleton also made an impression on Slash, who later invited the country singer to appear on his 2024 solo album Orgy of the Damned, with Stapleton providing vocals on a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Oh Well.”
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