Slash has had a busy 12 months, with an exhaustive touring schedule with the reunited Guns N’ Roses. However, the axeman still found time to do his own thing, and fans were certainly glad of that when they heard him pull out his rocking cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Oh Well” live at his blues event Serpent Festival. Slash delivered a grooving version of the Peter Green-penned blues classic at the festival in Marymoor Park, Washington State, on July 8, 2024.
Slash’s cover of “Oh Well” featured a driving groove from his solo band and plenty of fretboard pyrotechnics from the main man. The song is completely instrumental, and it’s really quite the experience to hear Slash just totally wail on a song as the main event, without any need to sit back for vocal parts to take center stage.
Slash organized Serpent Festival as a celebration of the blues and took the event across the US alongside performers including Larkin Poe, Eric Gales, Kingfish, Samantha Fish, Keb Mo, and Warren Haynes. Fans got a real treat from Slash’s set, as he played 16 songs packed full of blues covers and plenty of tasty riffs and licks.
YouTuber SeattleStudios shot some excellent videos of Slash’s set at the Marymoor Park event, several of which have since gone viral, attracting hundreds of thousands of views. The most popular video features Slash dropping into Eric Gales’ set to play Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze” with the virtuoso blues rocker. Gales provided the lead vocals while he and Slash traded lead lines on guitar, and the chemistry onstage was absolutely off the charts.
Fans couldn’t get enough of Slash’s rocking blues set and added comments such as “Now that’s rock ‘n’ roll! I hope he moves towards this direction” and “Slash is in a crazy creative ecstasy. He works and plays like never before – well done.”
The Music Man readers may recall that Slash wrapped up his North American tour with Guns N’ Roses in November 2023, and he’s since kept the fire burning with the release of his second solo album Orgy of the Damned. He dropped the album on May 17, 2024, treating fans to 11 covers of classic blues tunes, plus one original, “Metal Chestnut”.
Serpent Festival served not only as a showcase for some of the finest blues talent but also gave Slash a chance to share his solo show and his love for the blues with fans across the US.
If you would like to hear more from this talented guitarist you can subscribe to Slash’s YouTube Channel for more incredible music. Follow him on Instagram for updates and behind-the-scenes glimpses.