Guns N’ Roses gave fans a little trip down memory lane during a star-studded night at the Hollywood Bowl. The band joined Aerosmith and several other rock legends for Sunday’s concert, saving “Sweet Child O’ Mine” for the final moments of its set.
Dubbed Aerosmith and Friends: California Dream On, the event brought together an impressive lineup that included Marcus King, Tom Morello, Jerry Cantrell, Grace Potter, Heart’s Ann and Nancy Wilson, and Guns N’ Roses.
Heart also paid tribute to Aerosmith with performances of two of the band’s best-known songs, “Janie’s Got a Gun” and “Barracuda.”
Guns N’ Roses worked several Aerosmith hits into their set. The group played “Mama Kin,” “S.O.S. (Too Bad),” “Rats in the Cellar” and “Sick as a Dog,” giving fans a taste of the band’s catalog.
But they also saved one of their own biggest songs for the end. Before wrapping up their performance, Axl Rose and his bandmates launched into “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” bringing the crowd back to the band’s late-’80s heyday.
Guns N’ Roses performing their biggest hit “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” last night at the second concert of Aerosmith & Friends pic.twitter.com/840SvkRlAW
— 🎸 Rock History 🎸 (@historyrock_) November 2, 2026
The song remains one of Guns N’ Roses’ defining hits. Released on the band’s 1987 debut album, Appetite for Destruction, it helped propel the record to No. 1 on the UK Rock & Metal Albums chart, the U.S. Top Hard Rock Albums chart and the Billboard 200.
“Sweet Child O’ Mine” also found a new audience years later when Sheryl Crow recorded her own version for the 1999 film Big Daddy.
The cover appeared on the movie’s soundtrack before being added as a bonus track to a re-release of Crow’s third studio album, The Globe Sessions. Originally released in 1998, the album reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200.
Related: Journey’s Neal Schon Has a Change of Heart About the Band’s Farewell Tour: ‘It’s Not Over’