Carrie Underwood’s band opened the Stagecoach Festival on Saturday with the opening notes of ‘Sweet Child o’ Mine’, and it seemed to be business as usual. The country singer, known to be a Guns N’ Roses fan, has regularly included GNR songs in her setlist in the past and even showed some talent for mimicking frontman Axl Roses’ remarkable moves. But after only a few bars, she revealed the jealously guarded secret that tonight’s paradise would be an experience shared by all. “Welcome to the most incredible night of my life,” Underwood exclaimed enthusiastically. “Anything for Axl Rose!” the crowd exclaimed.
Axl Rose And Carrie Underwood Performed Two Guns N’ Roses Classics
Their rock god didn’t just play one song for them. The blatant failure of a hug at the end of “Sweet Child” served as a premonition that more was to come. “You thought we were done?” one of the characters said. Underwood then shouted and her band launched into a powerful, true-to-life arrangement of GNR’s “Paradise City,” which she sang even more often than any other on tour.
And that’s it – there were no reciprocal versions of “Jesus, Take the Wheel” or “How Great Thou Art”, to name just two of Underwood’s songs that were on the setlist before. “I can’t believe we thought we’d have more songs afterwards,” said Underwood after Rose left the stage and had to end her headlining set with three more, slightly less powdery solo tracks. “I can’t believe we thought we’d have any more songs after that,” Underwood added.
Underwood may have exaggerated in claiming to have played “Paradise City” on her biggest night, but her history with the song goes back far enough that it is documented that she played it as a headliner at Stagecoach in 2008.
Underwood is currently in between shows at Resorts World Las Vegas, which were interrupted on April 2 and, according to her website, are scheduled to resume in May. The Stagecoach show was very different from the one she did in Vegas, and it wasn’t just because she made a 10-minute cameo from Rose, which was a career highlight. Of course, rope tricks in the air and getting soaked while singing in a waterfall were no longer an option. Also, there were far more fireworks and pyrotechnics than the enclosed space of a casino theatre could hold… but also the live premieres of two previously unreleased songs, ‘Denim and Rhinestones’ and ‘Crazy Angels’, which had never been heard before. ‘Denim and Rhinestones’ and the previously released ‘Ghost Story’ are previews of the band’s forthcoming album, which will be released on 10 June.
Underwood also sang “See You Again”, a ballad from the album “Blown Away” that hasn’t gotten much attention in recent years. The song is about the anticipation of reuniting with deceased loved ones in the afterlife, and Underwood dedicated the song to Naomi Judd, who passed away the day before, in the introduction.
While Underwood paid tribute to Judd, the band performing before her on the main stage, the Brothers Osborne, went even further in their remembrance. They simply opened with a heartbreaking acoustic version of one of Judd’s best known songs, ‘Why Not Me’, without saying anything about Naomi Judd. It was heartbreaking in its simplicity and in what had not been said about Naomi Judd.
When the Osborne brothers compared their former experience of stage coaching to their current one, it was a powerful moment, both technically and on a very personal level.
“Four years ago we had a terrible, terrible set,” recalls TJ Osborne. “When I got home, I thought, ‘I don’t think we can do this again. “And we had to wait a long time, and a lot has changed since then, but tonight we’re out here trying to redeem our sins. And part of that redemption was not only being able to focus the moment better musically, but also coming back after TJ was revealed and taking responsibility for it.
He says there are many preconceived notions about country fans. “But thousands of you are here tonight to see a gay man perform. That’s the kind of change I’d like to see. Thank you so much for your help. This is absolutely amazing! “It’s the sound of country music”.
The middle night of Stagecoach 2022 ended with another openly gay performer, Orville Peck, performing in the Palomino tent.
