Guns N’ Roses to open 2025 tour in Riyadh with Public Enemy and Sex Pistols — yes, really

There’s a strange kind of poetry in watching the legacy of American rock explode under the night sky of Riyadh. Guns N’ Roses, that bastion of leather-wrapped chaos and unapologetic distortion, has chosen Saudi Arabia as ground zero for their 2025 world tour. Opening night, powered by regional disruptor MDLBEAST, promises to feel less like a show and more like an act of sonic mythology.

Flanked by genre anarchists Public Enemy and a reincarnated version of the Sex Pistols (with Frank Carter on vocals), the line-up feels like a punk-rap fever dream. These aren’t just openers – they’re countercultural heavyweights arriving at a time when the Middle East’s creative voice is becoming impossible to ignore.

Guns N’ Roses aren’t new to making headlines though. Their 2016–19 Not In This Lifetime… tour became the fourth-highest-grossing in history. But this tour feels different. Political, maybe – and definitely loud. For a band that helped define the American rock mainstream, performing across Europe and the Middle East – in cities like Istanbul, Florence, Kaunas, and Abu Dhabi – signals a new chapter in a career still unfolding on its own terms.

And what a statement to open with: the Kingdom Arena on 23 May, followed by a 24-city sprint through summer festivals and stadiums across Europe. Abu Dhabi will also feel the aftershock on 27 May, when they bring their unrelenting sound to Etihad Arena.

The MDLBEAST pairing says a lot. The Saudi-born entertainment force has become a cultural shapeshifter, turning music into momentum – from underground raves to global stages. And there’s narrative tension in the collision. Guns N’ Roses, who once channelled Reagan-era angst and Sunset Strip rebellion, now arrive in a region undergoing its own seismic shifts – culturally, politically, sonically.

For more information and tickets, please visit mdlbeast.com.