In May 2024, Slash released a star-studded solo album titled Orgy of the Damned that paid tribute to the Guns N’ Roses guitarist’s love of the blues. Slash supported the album with a 2024 summer tour called the S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival, which featured him playing with a blues-rock ensemble dubbed Slash’s Blues Ball.
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Now, Slash has unveiled plans to release a concert film and album on November 7 that was recorded during the trek. Live at the S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival, which can be pre-ordered now, will be available in multiple configurations and formats.
The album and movie document a July 17, 2024, performance at the Mission Ballroom in Denver. At the show, Slash and his band played a 14-song set that included nine of the 12 tunes featured on Orgy of the Damned, plus a selection of other covers.
The Orgy of the Damned material included renditions of songs by Fleetwood Mac, Howlin’ Wolf, Booker T. & the MG’s, The Temptations, T-Bone Walker, Hoyt Axton, and Robert Johnson, as well as the Slash original “Metal Chestnut.”
Among the other songs Slash and his group played at the concert were The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s “Stone Free,” Bob Dylan’s “It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry,” and Elmore James’ “Shake Your Money Maker.”
Slash’s Blues Ball featured Teddy “ZigZag” Andreadis on keyboards, harmonica, and vocals; Tash Neal on rhythm guitar and vocals; Johnny Griparic on bass and backing vocals; and Michael Jerome on drums. All of the musicians played on most of the tracks on Orgy of the Damned.
More About Live at the S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival
Live at the S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival will be available as a two-CD/DVD digipak, a two-CD/Blu-ray digipak, digitally, and as a three-LP set pressed on black heavyweight vinyl.
A limited-edition box set featuring the two CDs and three LPs, and a colored-vinyl triple-LP package are available exclusively at Slash’s online store.
The DVD and Blu-ray feature the full concert film, as well as documentary segments. Interspersed between the performances, Slash appears in behind-the-scenes interviews. The segments feature him discussing his connection to the blues, reflecting on the artists that have inspired him, and sharing stories behind the songs he played at the show.
Slash and his blues band’s version of the Peter Green-penned 1969 Fleetwood Mac classic “Oh Well” has been released as an advance digital track from Live at the S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival. A video of the performance also has premiere on the earMUSIC label’s YouTube channel. The clip showcases Slash’s blistering guitar riffs and solos, as well as Neal’s powerful vocals.
More About Orgy of the Damned and the S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival Tour
Orgy of the Damned featured appearances by an impressive list of guest artists. They included Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, AC/DC’s Brian Johnson, ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, Iggy Pop, Paul Rodgers, Chris Stapleton, The Black Crowes’ Chris Robinson, Demi Lovato, and Gary Clark Jr. Neal contributed lead vocals to a version of Stevie Wonder’s “Living for the City.”
The album spent 13 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Blues Albums chart.
Slash’s S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival tour featured 23 dates played in July and August of 2024. The trek’s name is an acronym for Solidarity, Engagement, Restore, Peace, Equality N’ Tolerance. The tour raised more than $125,000 for five nonprofit organizations chosen by the guitar great. The organizations benefited mental health, socio-economic equality and justice, and bettering the lives of underserved Americans.
The trek also featured performances by a variety of blues, Americana, and roots-rock acts chosen by Slash. They included Warren Haynes Band, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Samantha Fish, Robert Randolph, Eric Gales, Keb’ Mo’, Larkin Poe, and ZZ Ward.
Live at the S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival Track List:
CD 1
- “Intro”
- “Parchman Farm Blues”
- “Killing Floor”
- “Born Under a Bad Sign”
- “Oh Well”
- “Big Legged Woman”
- “Key to the Highway”
- “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone”
CD 2
- “Stormy Monday”
- “The Pusher”
- “Metal Chestnut”
- “Crossroads”
- “Stone Free”
- “It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry”
- “Shake Your Money Maker”
(Photo by Allison Morgan)
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