Guns N’ Roses Dedicates Black Sabbath Cover To Ozzy Osbourne At Welcome To Rockville

Guns N’ Roses headlined the first night of Welcome To Rockville 2026 on Thursday. The metal legends tipped their hat to Ozzy Osbourne and a band that had a huge role in starting the genre, Black Sabbath, early on in the Apex Stage set at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.

After opening the performance with a string of classics and the more recent “Chinese Democracy,” Axl Rose spoke to the massive audience. “This is a song we’ll do as a dedication,” Rose said. “If you know this song and you’ve heard us do it, you’ll know who that dedication’s to.”

GN’R then lit into Black Sabbath’s “Never Say Die” for the first time in 2026. Rose and his bandmates debuted their cover of the title track to Sabbath’s 1978 studio album at “Back To The Beginning – The Final Show.” Black Sabbath said farewell at the all-star event held July 5, 2025 in Birmingham, England, where the influential band formed in 1968.

“Back To The Beginning – The Final Show” wound up being Osbourne’s last performance as Ozzy died just two weeks later at age 76. GN’R went on to perform “Never Say Die” nine additional times in 2025, but the cover had gone missing from setlists since the band started their 2026 tour on March 28 in Monterrey, Mexico.

While it became obvious who Rose was dedicating the song to once “Never Say Die” began, the crowd roared when images of Ozzy Osbourne were displayed behind GN’R during the cover at Welcome To Rockville. Axl left no doubt when he exclaimed “For Ozzy!” at the end of “Never Say Die.”

Guns N’ Roses followed by going heavy on material from Appetite For Destruction and their Use Your Illusion albums at Welcome To Rockville, as they have since Slash rejoined the band in 2016. The 2026 World Tour resumes on June 4 in Gilwice, Poland. A North American leg starts on July 23 in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Watch audience-shot video of Guns N’ Roses’ set at Welcome To Rockville 2026 below (“Never Say Die” starts at 31:07):