Guns N’ Roses Officially Unveil Setlist for Highly Anticipated 2025 “Shadow Empire” Farewell Tour — A Monumental Goodbye to Rock’s Most Volatile Giants
It’s the end of an era, and Guns N’ Roses are going out in flames — the good kind. In what’s been dubbed both a farewell spectacle and a celebration of their four-decade reign, Guns N’ Roses have officially unveiled the setlist for their 2025 world tour, titled “Shadow Empire” — the name of their forthcoming and final studio album.
The announcement was made in dramatic fashion at a private press event in Los Angeles, where founding members Axl Rose, Slash, and Duff McKagan appeared together, flanked by a massive LED screen displaying the sprawling, 26-song setlist that will serve as the backbone of the tour.
“This is not just a tour. It’s our story — our final chapter,” Axl told reporters. “And we’re gonna make damn sure it echoes.”
A Setlist Built for Legacy and Firepower
The Shadow Empire Tour setlist is a carefully curated journey through the band’s explosive past, beloved classics, rare deep cuts, and new material from the upcoming album. According to Slash, every song was chosen “to reflect the chaos, beauty, heartbreak, and glory” of Guns N’ Roses’ legendary run.
Here’s a look at the official setlist for the 2025 tour:
- Shadow Empire (new song, opening track)
- Welcome to the Jungle
- It’s So Easy
- Mr. Brownstone
- Hard Skool
- Civil War
- Sorry
- Double Talkin’ Jive
- Estranged
- Reckless Heart (new)
- You Could Be Mine
- Pretty Tied Up
- 14 Years
- Street of Dreams
- Absurd
- Don’t Cry
- November Rain
- Dust and Bone (new)
- Dead Horse
- Coma
- This I Love
- Nightrain
Encore:
- Patience
- The General (new)
- Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
- Paradise City
A Tribute to Fans — and a Farewell With No Regrets
Billed as the final full-scale tour of the band’s career, Shadow Empire is expected to be a globe-spanning event with stops in over 40 cities across North America, Europe, South America, Asia, and Australia. The band is promising longer shows, enhanced stage production, and never-before-seen visual elements that span their journey from the Sunset Strip to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In a press release, Guns N’ Roses stated:
“This tour is for the fans — the ones who stood by us through madness and magic. We’re closing this chapter on our terms, and giving the world one last taste of what we do best: pure, unfiltered rock ‘n’ roll.”
Duff McKagan added:
“We’ve burned bright for a long time. This tour is about honoring that fire — and walking away with it still raging.”
New Music and Old Flames
The new songs peppered throughout the setlist — including the opening anthem “Shadow Empire”, the haunting ballad “Reckless Heart”, and the aggressive closer “The General” — are part of the band’s final album, set to release just days before the tour kicks off in Tokyo on August 14, 2025.
According to early insiders, the album blends the rawness of Appetite for Destruction with the ambitious layering of Use Your Illusion, and may feature guest appearances from legendary names like Dave Grohl and Elton John.
Fans can expect the new tracks to debut live on the tour, something Slash says is “more terrifying than exciting — but that’s how we’ve always done it.”
Industry and Fan Reactions
Social media erupted as the setlist dropped, with hashtags like #ShadowEmpireTour, #GNRFarewell, and #AxlSlashDuff trending worldwide.
Longtime fan and podcast host Jaime ‘RockerChic’ Mendoza tweeted:
“This setlist is INSANE. Deep cuts? New songs? Estranged and Coma?! They’re not leaving quietly — they’re blowing the doors off on the way out!”
Critics, too, are calling the announcement “one of the most important rock events of the decade,” noting that few bands of GN’R’s era still command this level of global attention.
The Final Bow
Whether this truly is the last time fans will see Guns N’ Roses together remains to be seen — but the band insists that Shadow Empire is their goodbye.
Axl Rose concluded the press event with words both nostalgic and definitive:
“We’ve played for stadiums. We’ve played for no one. We survived addiction, egos, lawsuits, and everything in between. But through it all, the music stayed. And now we’re ending it with that same music, loud and proud.”
Tickets go on sale this Friday — and with this kind of setlist, they won’t last long.
