Slash has been honoured with the 2026 Les Paul Spirit Award, recognising the Guns N’ Roses guitarist as an artist who carries forward the inventive, boundary-pushing spirit of the man who helped shape the electric guitar as we know it.
The award was presented on Monday night (5 October 2026) during an intimate celebration at The Les Paul Recording Studio at United Recording Studios in Hollywood.
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The private event was hosted by the Les Paul Foundation in partnership with Gibson Gives, the philanthropic arm of Gibson.
Music industry figures, fellow artists, media, friends and special guests filled the room to celebrate Slash’s creative legacy and his influence on generations of players and fans.
Alongside the presentation, guests enjoyed a reception and a tour of the historic studio, offering a closer look at Les Paul’s work and its continuing impact on modern music and recording.
The honour carries extra meaning for Slash. He and Les Paul were friends during Les Paul’s lifetime and often played music together, united by a shared curiosity about what the electric guitar could do and a restless instinct to push it further.
“Les was so much more than a great guitarist and innovator. He was an actual inventor who changed the instrument itself, built groundbreaking recording equipment, and completely reimagined how artists could record music,” says Slash.
“I feel incredibly lucky that I got to know him, hang out with him, and play music with him. I cherish the relationship we had, and receiving an award that carries his name and spirit is a tremendous honor.”
Michael Braunstein, Executive Director of the Les Paul Foundation, says that friendship made Slash a natural choice. “He and Les shared a special friendship and often jammed together when they could,” he said. “Not only does Slash exemplify the creativity and curiosity Les had during his life, but he is also an extraordinary talent and a wonderful supporter of the Les Paul Foundation.”
“If Les were still alive today, Slash and he would be jamming onstage together somewhere regularly,” Braunstein added.
The Les Paul Spirit Award is presented each year to an individual who embodies the late guitarist’s spirit through innovation, engineering, technology and music.
Each award is made from genuine hand-carved acoustic boards that Les Paul built and used in his own home recording studio, which means no two are exactly alike.
Slash now joins a distinguished list of previous recipients that includes Bob Weir, Nile Rodgers, The Edge, Peter Frampton and Steve Miller.
It is a fitting addition to a remarkable career. A Grammy Award winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Slash has sold more than 100 million albums and was ranked second only to Jimi Hendrix on TIME magazine’s list of the 10 greatest electric guitar players.
His riffs on Guns N’ Roses classics “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and “Welcome to the Jungle” remain among the most recognisable in rock.
Beyond Guns N’ Roses, he has made his mark with Slash’s Snakepit, the supergroup Velvet Revolver, Slash ft. Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators, and Slash’s Blues Ball Band. His most recent solo album, Orgy of the Damned, was released by Gibson Records in 2024 and spent 13 weeks at the top of the Billboard Blues Albums chart.
Before the award was handed over, a select group of media were invited inside the studio for an exclusive listening session featuring four songs from the forthcoming Slash ft. Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators album, Flying Blind. Guests heard “Good Time Girl”, “One of Your Kind”, “Flying Blind” and “Looking for a Miracle”, an early glimpse of the band’s next chapter.
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Due on 26 February 2027 via Gibson Records, Flying Blind is the band’s fifth studio album and their first full-length record since 2022’s 4. It was recorded largely live with producer Michael “Elvis” Baskette, capturing the raw, unfiltered chemistry that Myles Kennedy (vocals), Todd Kerns (bass and vocals), Brent Fitz (drums) and Frank Sidoris (rhythm guitar) have built with Slash over more than 15 years together.
“It’s a fun, kind of spontaneous rock ‘n’ roll record,” says Slash. “It’s very simple and down to earth and raw.”
The 12-track album ranges from the driving opener “Avarice and Greed” and the talk-box hooks of “Good Time Girl” to the aggressive crunch of “One of Your Kind”, the instrumental guitar showcase “Living the Dream”, the pedal steel-inflected “Looking for a Miracle” and the majestic closing track, “Stem the Flow”. The anthemic title track arrived as the first single on 2 October.
Fans will be able to hear the new songs live next year, as the Flying Blind World Tour 2027 takes the band across Latin America, North America, the United Kingdom and Europe, with stops at iconic venues including The Wiltern, the Beacon Theatre and the Ryman Auditorium.
Tickets are on sale now via Slash’s official tour page.
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The evening also shone a light on the work behind the award. The Les Paul Foundation shares Les Paul’s legacy by supporting music education, recording, innovation, public exhibits and medical research related to hearing.
Gibson Gives, meanwhile, works to put instruments into the hands of people who want to make music, and has raised more than $5.6 million over the last five years. Find out more at gibsongives.org and slashonline.com.
