He was at Woodstock, man. And on Saturday, he will be again.
Carlos Santana returns to the site of the fabled 1969 festival this weekend for a concert at a new arts pavilion just yards from the original stage where his band performed “Soul Sacrifice” during the “three days of peace and music” that helped define the end of the 1960s.
According to promoters, it’s the 62-year-old Grammy winner’s first time playing there since that unforgettable performance.
“Santana is one of the artists who embody the spirit of the festival,” said Shannon McSweeney, a spokeswoman for the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. “Him coming back is something special, I think, not only for us but for him.”
Steve Winwood will also play at the show Saturday.
The 2,000-acre facility, in upstate New York’s Sullivan County, is a performing arts center and museum with a 15,000-seat concert space. The Center includes the patch of land, once part of Max Yasgur’s farm, that hosted the original Woodstock festival in August 1969.
Last week, during a tour stop in Illinois, Santana proposed onstage to his girlfriend, drummer Cindy Blackman. She accepted.