Carrie Underwood has proven that a country music star can be the perfect support act for a rock and roll band like Guns N’ Roses.
Adjusting her typical setlist for the opening slot for one of her favourite bands, the Before He Cheats singer has added multiple hard rock and heavy metal covers to her repertoire.
Appearing at Parc Jean-Drapeau, Montreal, Canada, on Tuesday, 8 August, Underwood’s set comprised covers of Joan Jett’s Bad Reputation, Heart’s Alone and Wild Horses by The Rolling Stones. While those choices are interesting and strong enough to win over rock fans, Underwood went the extra mile by taking on the Motörhead classic, Ace Of Spades.
Like the original, her band kept Ace Of Spades bass-heavy as Underwood snarled and growled through the song in a way that would have made Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister proud. You can watch her cover of Ace Of Spades below.
Carrie Underwood’s love and appreciation for rock music isn’t a secret – in 2022, Guns N’ Roses singer Axl Rose joined her on stage for the first time at Stagecoach festival.
Underwood told Rolling Stone about how the duet happened, “I sent him an email and said, ‘We’re so close to you,’ and explained the why and what he meant to me.
“So I told him all that…and he came!” The two sang the Guns N’ Roses classic songs Paradise City and Welcome To The Jungle together. Since then, they’ve appeared on stage together on numerous occasions.
Underwood is only opening for the band on three select dates – her final show with them is on Saturday, 26 August, in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Pretenders, Alice In Chains, The Warning and Dirty Honey will also join Guns N’ Roses on select dates on the North American leg of their 2023 global tour.
Last weekend, Lemmy’s ashes were scattered across the grounds of Wacken, Germany, where the titular annual heavy metal festival takes place.
Wacken Open Air Festival co-organiser Thomas Jensen said in a statement via NME, “Lemmy coming back to Wacken is an enormous honour for us — words can hardly express how enormous. We will create a place of remembrance for him that does justice to his significance for an entire genre and beyond.”
Carrie Underwood is touring in support of her ninth album, Denim & Rhinestones, released in June 2022.