# Axl Rose Surprises Slash With a Birthday Serenade at Guns N’ Roses Tour Kickoff

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/axl-rose-surprises-slash-with-a-birthday-serenade-at-guns-n-roses-tour-kickoff/
- Published: 2026-07-24T21:20:44+00:00
- Updated: 2026-07-24T22:13:35+00:00
- Original publisher: American Songwriter
- Original article: https://americansongwriter.com/axl-rose-surprises-slash-with-a-birthday-serenade-at-guns-n-roses-tour-kickoff/
- Topics: Entertainment, Music

## Key points

- Axl Rose led fans in singing happy birthday to Slash in Raleigh.
- The tribute took place at Guns N’ Roses’ North American tour opening.
- Slash thanked fans after the stadium celebration.

## Summary

Guns N’ Roses opened the North American leg of their world tour in Raleigh, North Carolina, where Axl Rose led a stadium-wide rendition of “Happy Birthday” for guitarist Slash. The moment, during a concert featuring songs including “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and “Paradise City”, highlighted the enduring appeal of the band’s classic-era members and gave fans a notable opening-night moment.

Slash appeared touched and slightly overwhelmed as thousands of attendees sang to him at Carter-Finley Stadium, while a video of the tribute gained more than 17,000 views online. The band also shared a birthday tribute on Instagram, and Slash thanked fans in a brief post, writing that they were “wonderful”.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.