What a collab.
This past week, Chris Stapleton joined Guns N’ Roses for a very special performance of Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” during the band’s headlining show in Toronto at Rogers Stadium, which happened the day before Stapleton himself headlined the same stadium.
Of course, “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” is a song by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, written for the soundtrack of the 1973 film Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. Released as a single two months after the film’s premiere, it became a worldwide hit, reaching the Top 10 in several countries. The song became one of Dylan’s most popular and most performed post-1960s songs and has been covered many times, including by Guns N’ Roses, who have been performing the song since 1987, and a studio version is also on their 1991 album, Use Your Illusion II.
Chris is currently on the road for his All-American Road Show Tour, and I’m sure the Guns N’ Roses fans were pretty surprised to see him walk out, but I think fans of music from all genres can certainly appreciate his incredible talent and enjoy seeing him perform for
Axl Rose welcomed Stapleton to the stage towards the end of their set, and I think this was the perfect song choice for him to join them on. It’s honestly pretty rare to see Stapleton smiling much, he’s a pretty stoic dude most of the time, and around the 5:30 mark, he can’t stop grinning like a kid in a candy store watching Slash let it rip on guitar:
The fans seemed to really love seeing all of them on stage together, and hopefully they could do it again with a little more rehearsal time and really let Chris go all out on the vocals:
“Stapleton has a killer voice.”
“Chris Stapleton is f****** awesome! Love that guy. They should have let him rip a solo.”
“It was amazing. Slash is a living legend!!!”
“Stapleton is bad ass in so many ways…..what a special extra dose of awesome.”
“Stapleton was just standing there watching Slash in awe… not to take anything away from Chris. He IS A PRO..you can tell he was having the time of his life just watching Slash shred.”
“Chris wasn’t there to lead, but to stand with his love of music. G&R are legendary.”
“Chris Stapleton could have easily dominated the rock genre.”
“One of my favorite bands and love Chris! Two of the most distinct voices in music!”
“Wish Chris would have let them vocals fly a little more. He looked like he was so happy to just be here though. Give him a few more rehearsals and sessions on this song and it would be even more spectacular.”
“Great mix.”
“Couldn’t hear Chris really. Looked like Axl wanted to trade vocals with him and he deferred back to him not wanting to bigfoot the moment. Classy from Chris.”
Just days later, Stapleton would bring his opener Zach Top out for a performance of “I Ain’t Living Long Like This.”
All-American Road Show Tour Dates
August 8 – Detroit, Michigan – Ford Field with Lainey Wilson & Allen Stone
August 14 – Boston, Massachusetts – Fenway Park with Zach Top & Allen Stone
August 18 – Virginia Beach, Virginia – Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater with Maggie Rose
August 21 – Atlanta, Georgia – Mercedes-Benz Stadium with Lainey Wilson & Ashley McBryde
August 26 – Wantagh, New York – Northwell at Jones Beach Theater with Carter Faith
August 28 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion with Carter Faith
October 2 – Bristow, Virginia – Jiffy Lube Live with Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs
October 7 – Lincoln, Nebraska – Pinnacle Bank Arena with Nikki Lane
October 9 – Kansas City, Missouri – Morton Amphitheater with Nikki Lane
