Santana gets thrill out of Carnegie Hall
RARE is the rocker who has performed at Woodstock and Carnegie Hall, and Carlos Santana is such an artist.
“I can play anywhere,” Santana said during a phone chat last week. “I can play a parking lot in Africa.”
The guitar great played Carnegie Hall on April 29, as for the New York Pops’ 41st birthday concert honoring the legendary record executive Clive Davis. Santana and Rob Thomas reunited for their 1999 smash “Smooth.”
Dionne Warwick, Barry Manilow, Toni Braxton, Melissa Manchester, Fantasia Barrino Taylor, Kenny G, John Mellencamp, Art Garfunkel, Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds and Ray Parker Jr. joined in the Davis event.
During a phone chat last week, Santana was still abuzz about that event.
“I feel really high about it, I played Carnegie Hall — can you believe it?” said the 76-year-old rocker, returning to House of Blues on Friday and Saturday, continuing an eightshow run through May 23. “With respect to the Vatican, I was more excited about being in Carnegie Hall than in the Vatican. There’s something about Carnegie Hall, you feel the spirit of American geniuses like Duke Ellington and Charlie Parker, Billie Holiday and Miles Davis. … There’s a part of me that’s still a child there, and really in awe of the place.”
Santana is riding that spirit to House of Blues, where he comes up with the grand musical designs.
“I utilize the House of Blues stage as a laboratory,” the “Oye Como Va” performer said. “It’s a place to create alchemy and chemistry.”
He is also floating the idea of a new era for Woodstock. He would spearhead the effort, as an original performer who maintains a world view with his music.
“I want to make it a global caravan of harmony and oneness, on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and bring the best bands and the best musicians,” Santana said. “I have talked to Eric Clapton and certain musicians like Earth Wind & Fire, and they want to be a part of it. When I talk to promoters about this, they salivate. Everyone I talk to about it wants to be a part of this celebration.”
Santana has a timeline, saying, “This is not outside the realm of possibilities, from 2025-2027.”
Until then, it’s a House of Blues run this year and also a co-headlining tour with Counting Crows from June through September. Santana is again performing with his wife, Cindy Blackman Santana, on drums. He has not lost the passion for live performance, whether on tour or at home.
“You know, to bring hope and courage and enthusiasm is, it’s pretty mighty,” Santana said. “As a musician, I’m elevating people to claim their own light. For everyone, I want hope, courage, unity and harmony.”
Brown has served
Zac Brown Band is now the third announced band to play the Sphere, after the founder himself dished the upcoming series during the Theo Von Clips podcast. This is an odd turn of events. Brown’s comments mark the first instance in the Sphere’s brief history where a band member has publicly announced an engagement at the venue outside of any formal notice.
Zac Brown Band reps have not returned e-mail for verification/confirmation/clarification. The Sphere has employed its standard statement that it does not comment on any acts not formally announced.
We’re watching this one, in the face of anticipated announcements of the Eagles playing the venue for 10 dates this September though December.
Those shows have not been formally announced, either. We can’t say Brown is actually paying the Sphere until it’s confirmed by the venue itself. That is regardless of the musician’s claims.
Barnes in the house
Rick Barnes will be in the sold-out crowd for the Rolling Stones’ show at Allegiant Stadium. Barnes is familiar with the band and once toured the globe with Ronnie Wood. Barnes is “the fixer,” a life coach who parachutes in to provide individual coaching — alcohol and drug addiction counseling, general wellness consultation — to high-achieving clients. He moved to Las Vegas in 2019.
Wood certainly qualifies as a rocker in recovery. He and Barnes worked together to help Wood get clean and sober. Wood talked in unvarnished terms about his cocaine, heroin and alcohol addiction in his 2007 autobiography “Ronnie.” Wood once said, “I would do anything to get my hands on a crack pipe.” It took him three years to get clean.
“Rick Barnes was drafted in to support me and keep the monster at bay,” Wood writes in his tome. “My concentration was kept at full tilt by the support of Rick, who programmed me to live, act and focus for myself. Gently coaxing me (in an environment he could connect with) to enjoy the madness and appreciate the peace of mind I could find. This pace brought with it a new dexterity on the guitar and (paint) brush. My two great passions.”
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