Carrie Underwood had an epic surprise in store for her headlining set Saturday at the Stagecoach Festival: Axl Rose, who joined the singer to perform a pair of Guns N’ Roses classics.
After performing the opening verse and chorus of “Sweet Child O’ Mine” with her band, Underwood announced Rose to the crowd. “Welcome to the greatest night of my life,” Underwood, a longtime GNR fan, yelled. “Give it up for Axl Rose!”
After the performance, the band immediately launched into another Appetite for Destruction hit, “Paradise City.” “You thought we were finished?” Underwood told the crowd.
Underwood, who frequently sang “Paradise City” and “Sweet Child O’ Mine” in concert earlier in her career, has long been vocal about her love of GNR: During an appearance on The Tonight Show in 2020, she admitted she ditched her family following her own long tour in order to see Axl, Slash, Duff and company in concert.
“It was kind of a lifelong dream of mine I never thought would happen,” Underwood said of the GNR reunion. Following that show, Underwood actually met Rose backstage. “It’s hard to meet your heroes, because I do consider him someone who taught me how to sing,” she said. “But he was super cool and great and nice and we talked. We’re best friends.”
