Photos: Julia Lofstrand
Some awards come in a glass box. The SLASH Les Paul Spirit Award came out of Les Paul’s own studio walls, literally. On Monday, October 5, 2026, the top-hatted guitar legend got the honor at an intimate gathering inside The Les Paul Recording Studio at Universal Master Recordings in Hollywood.
This was no red carpet circus. The Les Paul Foundation and Gibson Gives, Gibson’s charitable arm, filled the room with industry heavyweights, artists, media, and friends. Then they let the music do the talking.
Why the SLASH Les Paul Spirit Award Hits Different
Here’s the thing most people don’t know. SLASH and Les Paul were real friends. They hung out, and they jammed whenever they could.
“I feel incredibly lucky that I got to know him, hang out with him, and play music with him,” SLASH said. He called Les “an actual inventor who changed the instrument itself.”
Michael Braunstein, executive director of the Les Paul Foundation, put it plainly. If Les were alive today, he said, the two would be “jamming onstage together somewhere regularly.”
That’s not a press line. That’s a friendship with a trophy attached.
An Award Carved by Les Himself
Look closely at that wavy, copper-toned piece in the photo. It was built from hand-carved acoustic boards Les Paul made and used in his home studio. Every award comes from his original materials, so no two are alike.
SLASH joins a serious lineup of past winners. Think Bob Weir, Nile Rodgers, The Edge, Peter Frampton, and Steve Miller. Not bad company for a kid who learned “Sweet Child O’ Mine” in his own head before the rest of us heard it on the radio.
A Career Built on Curiosity
The numbers speak loud. More than 100 million albums sold. A GRAMMY. A spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Guns N’ Roses, Velvet Revolver, Slash’s Snakepit, and Slash’s Blues Ball Band.
His 2024 blues record, Orgy of the Damned, sat atop the Billboard Blues Albums chart for 13 weeks. The man doesn’t coast.
First Listen: FLYING BLIND
Before the trophy came out, select media got an early taste of FLYING BLIND. That’s the upcoming album from SLASH FT. MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS. The room heard four cuts: “Good Time Girl,” “One of Your Kind,” “Flying Blind,” and “Looking for a Miracle.”
Producer Michael “Elvis” Baskette recorded the band mostly live. That means the raw, sweaty chemistry stays in the mix. The album drops February 26, 2027, via Gibson Records.
Catch Them on the Road
The FLYING BLIND WORLD TOUR 2027 hits Latin America, North America, the U.K., and Europe. New Yorkers, circle the Beacon Theatre. Other stops include The Wiltern and the Ryman Auditorium.
Tickets are on sale now at slashonline.com/tour. The SLASH Les Paul Spirit Award honors where he’s been. That tour shows where he’s going.
A vintage photo of SLASH and Les Paul greets guests at The Les Paul Recording Studio. Photo: Julia Lofstrand 
A personal snapshot of SLASH and Les Paul, two friends who often jammed together. Photo: Julia Lofstrand 
SLASH with guests inside The Les Paul Recording Studio at Universal Master Recordings. Photo: Julia Lofstrand 
SLASH gets an up-close look at vintage tape machines during a tour of the historic studio. Photo: Julia Lofstrand 
Slash and Meegan Hodges get a tour of the Les Paul Studio in Hollywood. 
Members of the media were treated to an exclusive advance listen to four songs from SLASH FT. MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS’ forthcoming album, FLYING BLIND. 
Jason Everly and Peter Leinheiser (Senior Director, Entertainment Relations US at Gibson). 
Second from left Candace Stuart (EastWest Studios) and Paula Salvatore (Music Consultants Inc.) pictured second from right, with writer/author Lyndsey Parker, pictured far right. 
Kenny Aronoff and Sandy Rizzo (music manager). 
Producer Mike Clink, Peter Leinheiser (Senior Director, Entertainment Relations US at Gibson), and Victoria Zeutzius. 
Oliver Roman (Foo Fighters’ Producer) and Todd Thorson, attorney.