Slash, the iconic Guns N’ Roses guitarist turned blues revivalist, has dropped his searing new single Crossroads (Live), taken from his upcoming album and concert film Live At The S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival, out Friday 7 November via earMUSIC. The track captures Slash’s Blues Ball band in full flight, delivering a raw, soulful and unapologetically loud take on Robert Johnson’s legendary Delta blues classic.
Recorded at the Mission Ballroom in Denver, Crossroads (Live) showcases Slash’s signature Les Paul tone cutting through a thunderous groove, with every note soaked in reverence for the original. The performance embodies everything that defines Slash’s new musical chapter – unfiltered, human and deeply rooted in the spirit of the blues.
“The blues has always been the foundation of everything I’ve done,” Slash has said in past interviews, and that sentiment carries across Live At The S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival.
The S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival, an acronym for Solidarity, Engagement, Restore, Peace, Equality N’ Tolerance, was created by Slash as both a celebration of the blues and a platform for unity through music.
Joining Slash on the album is his powerhouse band, the Blues Ball, featuring longtime collaborator Teddy “ZigZag” Andreadis on keys, harmonica and vocals, Tash Neal on rhythm guitar and vocals, Johnny Griparic on bass, and Michael Jerome on drums. Together, they dig deep into a setlist that honours the genre’s pioneers while throwing in Slash’s own signature firepower.
The Live At The S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival setlist includes blistering renditions of Howlin’ Wolf’s Killing Floor, Albert King’s Born Under A Bad Sign, Booker T. & The MG’s Green Onions-era grooves, Fleetwood Mac’s Oh Well, and Freddie King’s Big Legged Woman. It also leans into the psychedelic edge of the late 60s with The Jimi Hendrix Experience’s Stone Free and Bob Dylan’s It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry.
The performance peaks with Slash’s debut of an original instrumental, Metal Chestnut, alongside a roaring finale of Shake Your Money Maker. Between the tracks, the film version intercuts with candid interviews where Slash reflects on the blues masters who shaped him and the meaning behind the S.E.R.P.E.N.T. mission.
For Slash, this project is a return to his roots. Long before Appetite For Destruction defined a generation, the guitarist’s earliest influences came from the blues records his parents played at home. Even during the hard rock glory years with Guns N’ Roses, Slash’s playing was steeped in blues phrasing and tone – something that carried through into Velvet Revolver, Slash’s Snakepit, and his solo work with Myles Kennedy.
The upcoming Live At The S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival will be released in multiple formats, including 2CD+DVD and 2CD+Blu-ray Digipaks, as well as a heavyweight 3LP gatefold edition.
Live At The S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival – Track Listing
CD1:
01. Intro
02. Parchman Farm Blues
03. Killing Floor
04. Born Under A Bad Sign
05. Oh Well
06. Big Legged Woman
07. Key To The Highway
08. Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone
CD2:
09. Stormy Monday
10. The Pusher
11. Metal Chestnut
12. Crossroads
13. Stone Free
14. It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry
15. Shake Your Money Maker
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