Guitar great and his band are back with shows at the House of Blues.
This week brings the return of one of the longest-running musical residency headlining shows on the Strip to the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay. Carlos Santana will be kicking off his ninth year of shows at the stalwart music hall and calls the comeback a “golden opportunity.” Now more than ever after the challenges of the pandemic year, he says, people all over the world see music and live entertainment “like water and air. We are an ingredient that people gotta have, because it gives them hope and courage, which is something the world needs right now.” Speaking via phone from his home in Hawaii, Santana recently shared his thoughts on spreading that hope, his history in Las Vegas, new music and upcoming tour plans. How does it feel to be getting back onstage again? It’s such a blessing. I have never looked at (music) as a job or an opportunity or even as a profession. For my wife (drummer Cindy Blackman Santana) and I, it always has been a way of life. My father did it and his father and his father, and now my son does it. I’m sure you never expected to have a Las Vegas show running this long. No. My first time playing in Las Vegas was with the Grateful Dead.
