Grammy-winning guitarist and songwriter Slash has launched a North American tour in celebration of the blues this summer including one stop in Texas: Grand Prairie, where he'll perform at Texas Trust CU Theatre on August 17.

Called the S.E.R.P.E.N.T. festival, the tour follows the announcement of his highly anticipated sixth solo album Orgy of the Damned, due out May 17 on Gibson Records.

The tour will kick off on July 5 in Bonner, Montana, then travel to Los Angeles, Denver, Cincinnati, Toronto, New York City, Boston, Atlanta, before wrapping up in little old Grand Prairie, the final date on the tour.

Slash rose to fame as lead guitarist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. As Wikipedia correctly notes, he is considered one of the greatest guitarists of all time.

For the tour, has assembled an all-star blues lineup, including Warren Haynes Band, Keb’ ‘Mo, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Robert Randolph, Samantha Fish, Eric Gales, ZZ Ward, Jackie Venson, and Larkin Poe.

At the Grand Prairie show, he'll be accompanied by Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, ZZ Ward, and Robert Randolph.

On all dates, Slash will perform alongside his blues band, featuring bassist Johnny Griparic, keyboardist Teddy ‘ZigZag’ Andreadis, drummer Michael Jerome, and singer/guitarist Tash Neal. Very nice of him to give them credit.

Drummer Michael Jerome is originally from Dallas and maintains strong Dallas ties. Perhaps that explains the inclusion of the Grand Prairie date?

S.E.R.P.E.N.T. is an anagram that stands for Solidarity, Engagement, Restore, Peace, Equality N’ Tolerance. Slash founded the festival to celebrate the spirit of the blues, and to perform with other blues artists he admires who share his love of the genre.

He also has a strong desire to give back to charities that he has supported over the years, as well as to help lift marginalized communities that share his restorative focus of elevating lives for the benefit of all. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the charities The Equal Justice Initiative, Know Your Rights Camp, The Greenlining Institute, and War Child.

“The S.E.R.P.E.N.T. tour is a celebration of blues and rock ‘n’ roll music, and a celebration of unity and togetherness in these uncertain and divisive times,” says Slash. “S.E.R.P.E.N.T is a vehicle to help support and uplift people and communities suffering from the injustices of racism and equal rights violations, as well as to support children adversely affected by war and poverty across the world. So, we are contributing a portion of every ticket and VIP package sold from the tour to those ends. S.E.R.P.E.N.T. will also provide an environment where folks can get together for a day of great music and hang out and have a good time.”

General on sale for tickets begins Friday, March 15 at 10 am. For pre-sales, visit www.serpentfestival.com. A limited number of S.E.R.P.E.N.T. festival VIP packages are available now which include access to watch SLASH’s soundcheck before the show, hand-signed vinyl of Orgy of the Damned, and more.

Tour dates are as follows:

• JUL 5 Bonner, MT
• JUL 6 Airway Heights, WA
• JUL 8 Redmond, WA
• JUL 10 Bend, OR
• JUL 12 Lincoln, CA
• JUL 13 Los Angeles, CA
• JUL 14 Tucson, AZ
• JUL 17 Denver, CO
• JUL 19 Omaha, NE
• JUL 21 Terre Haute, IN
• JUL 22 Cincinnati, OH
• JUL 24 Interlochen, MI
• JUL 25 Huber Heights, OH
• JUL 27 Windsor, ON
• JUL 28 Toronto, ON
• JUL 30 Lewiston, NY
• AUG 1 Boston, MA
• AUG 4 New York, NY
• AUG 5 Bethlehem, PA
• AUG 7 Cary, NC
• AUG 8 Atlanta, GA
• AUG 10 Clearwater, FL
• AUG 11 Saint Augustine, FL
• AUG 13 Huntsville, AL
• AUG 14 Franklin, TN
• AUG 16 Bentonville, AR
• AUG 17 Grand Prairie, TX