Chris Stapleton Joins Guns N’ Roses for Surprise Cover of a Bob Dylan Hit at Band’s Toronto Show

Chris Stapleton came full circle Wednesday night (Aug. 5), making a surprise cameo during Guns N’ Roses‘ concert in Toronto nearly a decade after opening for the band.

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During Guns N’ Roses’ concert at Toronto Rogers Stadium, Stapleton joined GnR to perform the Bob Dylan classic “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,” which the band covered on 1991’s Billboard 200 No. 1 album Use Your Illusion II. (Dylan’s version peaked at No. 12 on the Hot 100 in October 1973, and remained on the chart for 16 weeks; GnR’s take didn’t hit the chart, but did reach No. 18 on the Mainstream Rock Airplay tally.) The country star — who has his own concert at the home of the Toronto Blue Jays scheduled for Thursday — exchanged verses with frontman Axl Rose throughout the performance while also playing rhythm guitar, joining Slash, Duff McKagan and the rest of the band for the cover.

The joint performance presents a full-circle moment for Stapleton and Guns N’ Roses. In July 2016, shortly after the release of his album Traveller, Stapleton opened for the reunited rock band at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium. Guns N’ Roses had split in 1996, and reunited in 2016 for the massive Not in This Lifetime Tour, which didn’t wrap until 2019.

Stapleton’s relationship with Guns N’ Roses extends beyond that first performance in 2016. Slash later invited the country singer to provide vocals on a track for his 2024 blues covers album Orgy of the Damned, which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Blues Albums chart and stayed at the summit for 12 weeks.