As he puts the finishing touches on his as-yet-untitled second solo album due out May 22, SLASH (VELVET REVOLVER, ex-GUNS N' ROSES) has announced that his headlining US tour will begin May 3 in Baltimore. A fan pre-sale begins this Wednesday, February 15, with the regular on-sale starting Friday, February 17. Tickets will be available at Slashonline.com. The itinerary (see below) encompasses three festival appearances: Saturday, May 5 at Carolina Rebellion, Saturday, May 19 at Rock On The Range and Friday, May 25 at Rocklahoma.

Meanwhile, this Saturday, February 18, Slash will join STEVIE WONDER, SEAN COMBS, CHRIS CORNELL, LENNY KRAVITZ, LL COOL J, COMMON, SNOOP DOGG, former President Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, actors Anthony Hopkins, James Gandolfini and more at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas for a 70th birthday celebration to honor boxing legend Muhammad Ali.

“Muhammad Ali is & always has been a role model and a hero to me,” says Slash. “It's a huge privilege to be able to perform in his honor. He is one of the great icons of American culture and history." The 16th annual “Power of Love Gala celebrates the life and legacy of Muhammad Ali and his contribution to the world and raises awareness for Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, ALS, Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s, the disease “The Champ” has been battling since 1984. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health’s work toward enhanced treatments and research of neurocognitive disorders and the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Ky. The show will also feature appearances from boxing legends such as Sugar Ray Leonard, Ken Norton, Tommy “Hitman” Hearns, and more. Tickets for this once-in-a-lifetime event are on sale now. ABC will also televise the show nationally on Saturday, Feb. 25, at 7 p.m. EST/ 4 p.m. PST. For tickets and more information, visit Keepmemoryalive.org.

Slash is currently in a Los Angeles studio working on his new album with Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators. It will be released SLASH’s own label Dik Hayd International distributed through EMI in the US and Universal Music in Canada.

For the new album, Slash - along with and his bandmates Myles Kennedy (vocals), Brent Fitz (drums) and Todd Kerns (bass) - have teamed with producer Eric Valentine, who also produced the Slash disc. All the songs were written together by SLASH and Kennedy, and cameras have been rolling throughout the entire making of the album. Check out exclusive behind-the-scenes footage airing weekly below:

Slash’s 2012 headlining US tour dates are as follows:

May

3 - Baltimore, MD - Rams Head Live
5 - Charlotte, NC - Carolina Rebellion, Rockingham Speedway
7 - Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Live
10 - Biloxi, MS - Hard Rock Hotel & Casino - Hard Rock Live
12 - Kansas City, MO - Liberty Memorial Park
13 - Indianola, IA - National Balloon Classic Field
14 - Minneapolis, MN - The Brick
16 - Madison, WI - Orpheum Theater
17 - Grand Rapids, MI - Orbit Room
19 - Columbus, OH - Rock On The Range, Columbus Crew Stadium
20 - Camden, NJ - Susquehanna Bank Center
25 - Pryor, OK - Rocklahoma
26 - Albuquerque, NM - Route 66 Casino