The back-and-forth over Guns N’ Roses’ tour dates is off the table. The 24 dates between May 23rd and July 31st, 2025 have now been officially approved. There are also two concerts and a special festival appearance in Germany.
With the Sex Pistols, Rival Sons and Public Enemy in the opening act, the band’s tour management has brought together a remarkable mix of genres and sounds. The once wild Axl Rose accompanied by controversial warhorses from past pop eras.
There is a certain explosiveness about the opening concert in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh. Wild rockers and riot brothers in the regulatory state! A few years ago, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman proclaimed “Vision 2030”, which included gigantic construction projects, football and Formula One as well as a certain opening to pop culture. The strict veiling for women has been abolished, but activism continues. A fine line.
Saudi Arabia is getting serious about Western pop culture
Since then, all sorts of superstars from Rihanna to Metallica have played in the desert. DJ sets from David Guetta, Jeff Mills or the Berlin collective “Keine Musik” are also possible in the Wahhabi kingdom. The “Riyadh Music Week” is currently running, and the convention festival “XP Music Futures” has just ended. There is also the “Music Makers Summit” and the “Music Cities Convention”. Before the Arabia section of the US industry magazine “Billboard” presents the Arabia Music Awards, which honor the best musicians in the Middle East. The “Soundstorm” music festival with Eminem, Muse and Linkin’Park marks the end of the officially decreed pop and rock offensive.
The organizer of the “Soundstorm” is the major promoter MDLBEAST, who also handles the Guns N’ Roses tour package. It will be interesting to see whether there will be agreements between bands and officials about what can and cannot be said on stage.
What are Guns N’ Roses playing in Riyadh?
The song “Riad N’ The Bedouins” by Guns N’ Roses is probably too cryptic to violate the restrictions that are still in place. May in Saudi Arabia will show to what extent the former revolutionary attitude of Public Enemy (“Fight The Power”) or the “anarchy” and anti-monarchy slogans of the Sex Pistols still have explosive power for the audience in Riyadh.