SLASH Says GUNS N' ROSES 'Has Never Been A Big Choreographed Thing' When It Comes To The Band's Live Shows

In a new interview with Walter Flakus of Chicago's Rock 95.5 radio station, GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Slash was asked how the band's live show has evolved since he, bassist Duff McKagan and vocalist Axl Rose reunited a decade ago. Slash responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "GUNS has never been what you call a big sort of live set, live choreographed thing. We put our gear up there and then we just go and play. So, sets and all that kind of stuff sort of evolve on the night. It's not even something where, where we go out and have a set set and then play that through the whole tour. We move stuff around every single night. So I think since we got back into it, we just sort of took off from where we left off. But there's a lot of material. So we've been historically doing three-plus-hour sets because of the amount of material and because we have a good time doing it. It wasn't supposed to be three hours. Anyway, we just sort of naturally do what we do."

Slash also talked about how he goes about putting together his solo section in the GUNS N' ROSES live show. He explained: "I make up something, like an I idea for what's gonna be something I can solo on at the beginning of every tour. So it could be one of two things, or it could be — like on the last run, we were doing 'Hideaway'. And that was really fun. So we did that for the whole thing. We're gonna do something different for this one. I actually wrote something for this next one. Well, 'cause I like to do it with the band. I never liked doing guitar solos by myself — ever. I would do it out of necessity 'cause people need a break or whatever, and I cringe at it. But if you do it at least jamming along with the band, you can write something that has some cool changes and feel it more. So I got something — an idea for what I wanna do on this next run."

This past December, GUNS N' ROSES announced the special guests joining them on their worldwide 2026 tour: THE BLACK CROWES, Ice Cube, PIERCE THE VEIL, PUBLIC ENEMY and BARBARIANS OF CALIFORNIA. Each act will join GUNS N' ROSES on select dates across the North American leg.

Recently, GUNS N' ROSES announced their massive spring and summer 2026 world tour, which will see the band visit Mexico and Brazil before headlining major venues across Europe and returning to stadiums throughout the United States and Canada. The run includes a historic performance at Los Angeles's Rose Bowl, marking their first show at the venue in more than 30 years.

Tickets are available now at gunsnroses.com. In North America, the tour will also offer a variety of different VIP packages and experiences for fans to take their concert experience to the next level. Packages vary but include premium tickets, behind-the-scenes tour, invitation to the pre-show VIP Lounge, limited edition merch & more. VIP package contents vary based on the offer selected. For more information, visit vipnation.com.

Earlier in December, GUNS N' ROSES returned with two brand new singles. Marking their first new music release since 2023, "Nothin'" and "Atlas" find the long-running band still at the height of their powers, showcasing two different sides of their personality. "Atlas" is GN'R in full surging rock mode, while "Nothin'" grows more introspective over floaty keys and an emotive guitar. Both songs are available via Interscope Records.

GUNS N' ROSES have steadily been releasing new material in recent years in conjunction with their sold-out tours across the globe. Following 2023's "The General" and "Perhaps", "Atlas" and "Nothin'" join as vital additions to setlists otherwise featuring all the classic hits and deep cut fan favorites from GN'R's early catalogue.

Embedded in popular culture, GUNS N' ROSES' landmark diamond-selling 1987 opus "Appetite For Destruction" stands out as "the best-selling U.S. debut album ever" and "the 11th best-selling U.S. album of all time." Following its release, GUNS N' ROSES shook the world with the one-two punch of the over seven-times-platinum "Use Your Illusion I" and "Use Your Illusion II", clinching the top two spots on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart upon arrival. With total sales of 100 million units thus far, their catalog also consists of "GN'R Lies" (five times platinum),"The Spaghetti Incident?" (platinum),"Greatest Hits" (five times platinum),and "Chinese Democracy" (over six million worldwide). Not to mention, they are one of the most-streamed rock bands in the world with an average of 27 million monthly listeners on Spotify and in May 2024 were inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame for their 1987 debut album, "Appetite For Destruction".

On the touring front, GUNS N' ROSES' legendary three-hour-plus shows encompass sought-after fan favorites in addition to newly dusted-off gems from their back catalog, leaving ardent audiences in awe. Their blockbuster 2024 world tour sold 1.3 million tickets around the world and marked the band's largest run to date. Consisting of acclaimed performances in stadiums and arenas alike, the tour included headlining festival dates at Glastonbury and London's Hyde Park, while the North American leg included sold-out performances at historic venues such as the Hollywood Bowl and MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, as well as a co-headlining performance at Power Trip in Indio, California with AC/DC and METALLICA. GUNS N' ROSES' previous world tour, "Not In This Lifetime…", notably ranked as the "fourth-highest grossing concert tour of all time", selling more than five million tickets and included a headline performance at Coachella. The band's massive 2025 tour saw the powerhouse band hit stadiums and arenas in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America throughout the year.

GUNS N' ROSES are Axl Rose (vocals, keyboards),Duff McKagan (bass),Slash (lead guitar),Dizzy Reed (keyboard),Richard Fortus (rhythm guitar),Isaac Carpenter (drums) and Melissa Reese (keyboard).