Carlos Santana is 79 years old, but he shows no signs of slowing down musically. Last week, he released the video for his gorgeous new Spanish language song with Latin pop sensation Becky G., called “Mi Gran Amor” ("My Great Love") to celebrate Latino excellence, and he just announced the 14th year of his long-running Vegas residency, “An Intimate Evening with Santana: Greatest Hits Live: Presented by SiriusXM” at the House of Blues inside Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, beginning in September and running through the end of November.
Before the Sin City shows, he’s finishing up his Oneness Tour with openers The Doobie Brothers, which hit the Hollywood Bowl last Thursday. With a rhythm-driven band behind him (featuring musicians he’s worked with for decades) Santana showed just how vital his music still feels in a live setting.
The Doobies provided the perfect warm-up for the hypnotic jams and jubilation to come, playing a hit-packed procession of rock and blues-infused numbers as the sun began to set. In recent years, they’ve been slapped with the “yacht rock” label, but this band deserves “classic rock” classification more than most, as their music evokes '70s nostalgia like no other. Their songs are go-to’s for movie soundtracks for good reason, and “Rockin Down the Highway,” Jesus is Just Alright,” “China Grove,” “Black Water,” and “Taking it to the Streets,” sounded as potent as ever live.
Michael McDonald has re-joined the band for this tour and the songs that he leads vocally have a magical power to evoke childhood flashbacks for Gen-X kids like myself— after all, they were on the radio constantly: “What A Fool Believes,” “Minute by Minute,” and McDonald’s own hit, “I Keep Forgettin,” create a soulful and simple vibe that's almost hard to describe. His robust baritone just gets better the more he warms into every song.
The whole band (Tom Johnston on vocals, guitar, and harmonica; Patrick Simmons on vocals and guitar; John McFee on guitar, pedal steel, violin and backing vocals; John Cowan on bass, Marc Russo on sax; Ed Toth on drums and Marc Quiñones on percussion) was on point and just loose enough to make it feel like a party.
Opening with an immersive video montage of tribal dance and ritual aa darkness fell, Santana opened its set with “Soul Sacrifice,” the song that wowed crowds and put Carlos on the musical map after he played it at Woodstock in 1969. The band then went into “Jingo” by Nigerian percussionist Babatunde Olatunji, one of the most hypnotic tracks off his '69 self-titled Columbia Records debut. Other covers made famous by the virtuoso guitarist followed including Willy Bobo’s “Evil Ways,” Tito Puente’s “Oyo Como Va,” and The Zombie’s “She’s Not There,” the later part of a mashup/medley of sorts with his hit “No One To Depend On.”
Highlighting the basic rhythms that fuel music of all genres, Santana offered nods to other famous artists and songs throughout the set. There were interludes with Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” and Carole King’s “I Feel the Earth Move,” the latter of which clearly shares a melody with “Oyo.”
Infusing Latin sounds into rock and taking the music to psychedelic realms has been Santana’s signature since the beginning and his rhythm section –led by former Lenny Kravitz drummer Cindy Blackman Santana (she married the legend in 2010) on drums– was a marvel to take in, especially at the Bowl.
Along with his wife, his son Salvador Santana is part of the touring band, playing keyboards and contributing vocals. Santana’s lead vocalists, Ray Greene and Andy Vargas, did a fine job singing tracks old and new, from the rapturous “Black Magic Woman” to the huge pop hits off his ‘99 comeback, Supernatural, including “Maria Maria” and the show closer, “Smooth.”
The rest of the band – Benny Rietveld on bass, Tommy Anthony on rhythm guitar, David K. Mathews on Keyboards and Paoli Mejías on percussion– really made it feel like a journey of togetherness on stage (and off), harkening back to the gathering that started it all.
Santana spoke of Woodstock during a heartfelt spoken moment near the end of his set wherein he talked about the world’s struggles and how “You and I, we can make a difference in this planet,” adding “we have light and divinity and we’re significant and meaningful… this planet is infected with fear and separation and we have the medicine. The medicine is unity, harmony and oneness.”
It felt like he was right, if only for the night.
Check his new track with Becky G here:
Remaining Oneness Tour Dates:
August 18, 2026: Moody Center ATX in Austin, TX
August 21, 2026: The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands, TX
August 22, 2026: American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX
August 24, 2026: Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, CO
August 26, 2026: Morton Amphitheater in Riverside, MO
August 27, 2026: Mystic Lake Amphitheater in Shakopee, MN
