Children Of The Son Meet Slash backstage

Children Of The Son, the up-and-coming young Wicklow band, were invited backstage last night to meet Slash.

The former Guns 'N Roses guitarist was at the Olympia, where he delivered a coruscating solo show – which turned into a good old fashioned rock 'n' roll celebration, with Slash going down a storm with his Irish fans.

Afterwards, he chilled for nearly half an hour backstage with the young Irish band. Slash was a huge formative influence on Children of the Son's lead guitar and songwriting dynamo, Max Matthews – the eldest of the three brothers who comprise the band. Max was heavily influenced by Slash when he took up guitar at the age of 11.

"It was a brilliant moment for Max," an industry insider told Hot Press.

The young guitarist was naturally thrilled to meet a hero, who remains one of the ultimate guitar icons. "At the end, Slash hugged the guys one by one," the insider added.

Children Of The Son, comprising Max Matthews, Art Matthews and vocalist Jack Matthews, featured prominently in the list of Hot for 2013 artists, published by Hot Press in January of this year – and they have been creating bigger ripples throughout the industry since, with a break-through seeming more and more likely by the day.