Carrie Underwood‘s love for late-80s rockers Guns N’ Roses is no secret. That’s why her band playing “Sweet Child o’ Mine” during her Stagecoach Festival set Saturday was not a surprise. The surprise, especially for the audience, was how GNR frontman Axl Rose joined her on the stage. After “Sweet Child o’ Mine,” the two performed another of Underwood’s favorite songs, “Paradise City.”
Underwood performed at Stagecoach’s Mane Stage in Indio, California, Saturday night, starting with a setlist featuring some of her biggest hits. She sang “Good Girl,” “Wasted,” “Two Black Cadillacs,” “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” “Cry Pretty,” and more. “Denim & Rhinestones,” the title track for her upcoming ninth album, was performed live for the first time. She also dedicated “See You Again” to Noami Judd, who died just hours before taking the stage.
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After 16 songs, Underwood changed things up. Her band performed the opening chords to “Sweet Child o’ Mine,” then she introduced Rose. After that song, Underwood yelled to her audience, “Did you think we were through?” They certainly were not, as they went right into “Paradise City.”
‘Carrie Underwood blew it away tonight’
Rose left the stage after two songs, leaving Underwood to finish the set solo. “I can’t believe we thought we should have more songs after this,” Underwood said, reports Variety. She finished the show with “Smoke Break,” “Something in the Water,” and “Before He Cheats.”
‘I am SOBBING for her’
Longtime Underwood fans know she loves Guns N’ Roses. In November 2019, she shared a clip from a GNR concert she attended after wrapping her Cry Pretty Tour 360. “I rank tonight as one of the top 5 nights of my entire life!” she wrote. “After the last show of our tour last night me and the band flew out to Vegas [Caesars Palace] for a [Guns N’ Roses] show. It. Was. Incredible. I’m talking 3 hours worth of incredible!” Underwood also wore a GNR shirt while rehearsing for the 2019 ACM Awards.
‘What a fun show this was’
During a stop on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in 2020, Underwood said she met Rose after seeing GNR perform in 2019. “I do always say that it’s hard when you meet your heroes because I do consider him to be somebody who taught me how to sing because I loved how he could just do different things with his voice,” Underwood recalled. “I was like, ‘I don’t know! If I meet him, and he’s not everything I want him to be.’ But he was. It was great. He was super cool and nice, and we talked – we’re best friends.”
‘She never disappoints’
Underwood’s Stagecoach appearance came after wrapping up her Resorts World Las Vegas residency last month. Her album Denim & Rhinestones will be released on June 10 and includes the hit “Ghost Story.” Underwood co-wrote 11 of the 12 songs on the album.
‘Carrie bringing out Axl Rose was the best thing ever’
“Carrie bringing out Axl Rose was the best thing ever & Sweet Child Of Mine and Paradise City… WOW! [Underwood], you are amazing!” one fan wrote.
‘Best. Night. Of. My. Life!’
“Best. Night. Of. My. Life!!! I am still freaking out!!! Thank you [Rose], for making this lifelong dream come true!!! You rocked that [Stagecoach] stage harder than anyone has ever rocked it before,” Underwood gushed on Twitter.
