Guns N’ Roses Returns to Medellín: What to Know Before the October 11 Show

• 🎸 Legendary rock returns to the Estadio; Guns N’ Roses hits Medellín this October

• 🎟️ Ticketmaster is running the show (for better or worse)

• 🤘 Axl, Slash, and Duff are back; don’t miss the pit if you’re hardcore

A few months ago, I wrote about my experience with going to Estereo Picnic in Bogota, and how the city of Bogotá knocked it out of the park with a top line festival coming to the city, and also how incredibly sweet Olivia Rodrigo was. All this time later, I have so many positive memories that I took from that event, and a autographed album that still needs to get shipped to Texas, but there was no headway made on bringing in international talent into Medellin.

Granted we had Shakira schedule a concert, then cancel it, then re-do it at the stadium, and we had a Karol G popup in my neighborhood and she CRUSHED that, but there were no other international acts coming to town, not even talking about a festival. The lineup for Altavoz hasn't been finalized yet, but everything I've seen shows that it lacks star power.

Fico Gutierrez Comes Through

This is until I was told by an insider in the Mayor's office that they are bringing an international rock group to Medellin, and I was very excited to find out that it was none other than Guns N' Roses. I was told that he is a fan of the band and this is part of an initiative he has to adjust to Medellin being an international destination. Exactly what I asked for after my Olivia Rodrigo rant.

This is great for me because early on in my time living here, Guns N' Roses played a show here in Medellin and it was exceptional. I'm going to date myself here, but the last time I saw Guns N' Roses perform live was at "Day On the Green 1991" In Oakland, CA which is a bit of an infamous event because Axl Rose cut their set short to 45 minutes after local acts Faith No More and Metallica put on incredible one hour and two hour sets, respectively. So we collectively tore up the plastic covering the field that the Oakland A's played on and ripped up every piece of sod for the next 15 minutes it rained grass in protest of Axl being a primadonna.

So, I had a preconceived notion of them until I saw them here in Medellin. Though they were deeply into their 50s at the time, they rocked the show. It was an incredible show, and the tickets sold out incredibly fast. The ticketing was poorly handled last time, and there were a ton of people that got fake tickets, and it really ruined the good time.

Leave the Ticketing to the (Ticket)Master

This time, there is an old familiar name stepping in to take charge, Ticketmaster. I've long had an issue with Ticketmaster and their predatory ways, and they have only gotten greedier and more brazen as time has gone on. In my opinion they have contributed to the death of live music being for fans and truly one of the most disgusting companies in existence. However after the debacle of the Shakira concert and the lack of authentic tickets being sold, they appear to be a necessary evil here.

Is this concert the first of many that Ticketmaster takes over in Colombia? Will we look back in 5 years and curse this decision for letting this evil into our lives? Only time will tell, but I will say that it feels like the world of event ticketing is the domain of evil people. With the number of people who bought fake Shakira tickets here, it proved the point that some kind of consolidation is needed, but I don't want it to be Ticketmaster.

The predatory Ticketmaster Service fee is between 20-30% of your ticket price, and it's progressive based on the ticket you purchase. The ticket range from 180mil to 1.2million pesos with fees. Granted, we don't know who will be performing with them because it's 4 months away, but this seems excessive.

Take Me Down To Paradise City

The chorus of this song seems like it was written about Medellin - "Take me down to the Paradise City, where the grass is green and the girls are pretty. Oh won't you please take me home". When I heard it here for the first time, I made the connection, but since then, every time I hear the lyrics, I think about that. I am looking forward to how Axl Rose will weave that into the song like he did last time.

If you are interested in going, the show will be on Saturday, October 11th at Estadio Atanasio Giraldot in Medellin. The show is for ages 7 and up, and as of writing this, tickets are moving faster than I thought. So you may want to get on it early. Since that's so close to my birthday, I'm getting pit tickets, so if you go, let me know and I'll see you there.

Buy your tickets at: https://www.ticketmaster.co/event/guns-n-roses-medellin

For more tour information: https://www.gunsnroses.com/tour

This is a great start. I'll see you there!

Guns N Roses Medellin 2025, GNR concert Colombia, Medellin live music events, Ticketmaster Colombia, October concerts Medellin, Estadio Atanasio events, Fico Gutierrez Guns N Roses, buy Guns N Roses tickets Medellin