The return of stadium rock tours delayed again with Guns N’ Roses forced to reschedule to November 2022

Guns N’ Roses fans will need a little patience with the ongoing Delta outbreaks squashing hopes their upcoming Australian tour could go ahead.

Guns and Roses in concert. Picture: Supplied

Guns N’ Roses fans will have to hang onto their tickets for another year with the legendary rockers forced to reschedule their Australian tour to November 2022.

Promoter Paul Dainty said he had spent months trying to negotiate a sports-style bubble so the Gunners could play the country’s first stadium rock tour since the pandemic shut down the live music industry in March last year.

But the current Delta outbreaks in NSW and Victoria ruled out having stadium-sized crowds in those states.

It’s gonna be another year before we see Axl pull his mic stand pose in Australia. Picture: Supplied

Guns N’ Roses were scheduled to play eight outdoor concerts in Australia and New Zealand kicking off on the Gold Coast on November 6.

Tickets went on sale in November 2020 when the CovidSafe outlook for Australia to get the show back on the road was more optimistic.

Tens of thousands of diehard fans will have held onto their tickets for two years by the time the band open their reschedule dates in Perth on November 18, 2022.

Slash still getting serious air after all these years on the road. Picture: Supplied.

“Since March we’ve been having hundreds of meetings to try to get a tour bubble together for November but with the flare-ups in NSW and Victoria, all that energy went out the window,” Dainty said.

“I think the fans are pretty understanding. About 95 per cent of people are hanging onto their tickets.”

The bubble would have required moving the Gunners tour party of about 115 people plus at least 40 in the local team. It would have employed hundreds of venue and hospitality staff and Australian road crew and technicians at each event.

Guns N Roses will now perform in Aussie stadiums in November 2022. Picture: Supplied.

A new release of tickets are on sale for the 2022 concerts at Optus Stadium, Perth on November 18, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane on November 22, Metricon Stadium, Gold Coast on November 24, Stadium Australia, Sydney on November 27, Adelaide Oval on November 29 and Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 3.

Guns N’ Roses in concert. Picture: Supplied.

Founding members Axl Rose, Slash, Duff McKagan and the current Gunners line-up are currently touring America, playing epic three-hour shows, the setlist peppered with fan faves including Paradise City, Mr Brownstone, November Rain, Sweet Child O’ Mine, Patience and You Could Be Mine.

Signature covers such as Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door and Live And Let Die are also in there.

But they have yet to add new single Hard Skool, which they dropped on streaming sites on the weekend.

Australian music fans in lockdown were teased with the reminder of what stadium gigs look like when Birds of Tokyo, John Butler, Eskimo Joe, Abbe May and more rocked the AFL grand final in Perth on Saturday.

Originally published as The return of stadium rock tours delayed again with Guns N’ Roses forced to reschedule to November 2022