LOS ANGELES, CA (Jensen Communications) - On the road since early March,
Carlos Santana and the
Santana Band have already performed for many hundreds of thousands of fans this year as the jubilant
Santana World Tour 2006 wound its way through South
America (for their first tour there in over a decade),
Europe and Japan. Pumped up like never before from the global celebration of music and spirit they've been conducting,
Carlos and company touched down in San
Diego July 27 to launch the tour's North American leg. West coast dates span July and August and East coast dates run through the end of September.
All the west coast Santana shows feature neo-soul star Anthony Hamilton as opening act - Hamilton croons the stand-out track "Twisted" on Santana's latest album, "All That I Am." Following initial late July dates at Phoenix, AZ's Cricket Pavilion, MGM Grand's Garden Arena in Las Vegas and Irvine, CA's Verizon Amphitheater, Carlos and the Santana Band will perform two Santa Barbara Bowl shows on August 1-2. Then, San Francisco Bay area-based Santana hits their home turf with shows August 4 at Concord's Chronicle Pavilion and August 5 at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View before wrapping in California August 6 at the Marysville's Sleep Train Amphitheatre.
The East coast leg of Santana's 2006 World Tour hits the ground September 15 at Mansfield, MA's Tweeter Center with a special concert featuring guitar legend Jeff Beck as the bill's opener. All other East coast dates spotlight the Salvador Santana Band opening and Los Lonely Boys as the second act, with engagements including September 16 at Nikon at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, NY, September 23-24 at the Atlantic City's Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa Event Center, and September 28 at the Sound Advice Amphitheater in West Palm Beach, FL. The itinerary concludes with a September 30 show at Atlanta, GA's Chastain Park Amphitheatre.
Santana's 2006 U.S. dates come on the heels of a trilogy of guest star-studded shows at the 40th annual Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux, Switzerland. Carlos conceived the three Montreux events to honor the global musical influences - African, Cuban, Brazilian and more - that have shaped and inspired Santana's artistic legacy. The first show, "Dance To The Beat Of My Drum" (7/9), showcased African music icons including Angélique Kidjo, Ismael Lo, Idrissa Diop, Touré Kunda and Mory Kanté. "My Blues Is Deep" (7/10) presented Santana with Irma Thomas, Taj Mahal, Tinariwen and The Neville Brothers, among other greats. The final show on July 12, titled simply "Santana!," truly brought the house down - at a Festival that Carlos calls "the mother of all concerts" - with triumphant performances featuring Herbie Hancock, Sean Paul, Draco, Beverley Knight, Eagle-Eye Cherry and Tower of Power.
Previously in 2006, multiple GRAMMY/Latin GRAMMY winner Carlos Santana received the NAACP Image Awards Hall of Fame Award which, in addition to Santana's musical achievements, honored the work of the Milagro Foundation, established in 1998 by Carlos and his wife, author Deborah Santana, as well as their many other humanitarian endeavors. Another milestone induction came in June when Carlos became part of the Hollywood Bowl Hall Of Fame, which, "celebrates those consummate creators and performers, who, through their talent and effort, have established themselves as true superstars... whose contributions to the arts have made them part of the fabric of American culture."
On September 18 - a day off during the East coast World Tour itinerary - Carlos and Deborah Santana will also co-chair (along with Samuel Jackson, Alfre Woodard, Denzel Washington and others) the U.S. celebration of Archbishop Desmond Tutu's 75th birthday. The event, which takes place in Beverly Hills, CA, is a benefit for Artists For A New South Africa (ANSA) and their groundbreaking programs working with people with HIV/AIDS, children orphaned by HIV/AIDS and at-risk youth in the U.S. Proceeds from the evening will specifically support two South African charities, personally selected by Archbishop Tutu, that serve disadvantaged children. Following the conclusion of Santana's World Tour, Carlos Santana will travel to South Africa for Archbishop Tutu's birthday festivities there, after which he will take a break to spend time with his family.
For more information, visit www.santana.com
SANTANA U.S. TOUR DATES: JULY & AUGUST - WEST COAST featuring Anthony Hamilton as opener
July 27 San Diego, CA - Viejas Concerts at Bayside
July 28 Phoenix, AZ - Cricket Pavilion
July 29 Las Vegas, NV - MGM Grand Garden Arena
July 31 Irvine, CA - Verizon Amphitheater
August 1-2 Santa Barbara, CA - Santa Barbara Bowl
August 4 Concord, CA - Chronicle Pavilion
August 5 Mountain View, CA - Shoreline Amphitheatre
August 6 Marysville, CA - Sleep Train Amphitheatre
SEPTEMBER - EAST COAST U.S. featuring Salvador Santana Band opening and Los Lonely Boys as second act (except for 9/15 with special guest Jeff Beck):
September 15 Mansfield, MA - Tweeter Center-featuring Jeff Beck opening
September 16 Wantagh, NY - Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
September 17 Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center
September 20 Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena
September 22 Wallingford, CT - Chevrolet Theater
September 23-24 Atlantic City, NJ - Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa Event Center
September 26 Bristow, VA - Nissan Pavilion at Stone Ridge
September 28 West Palm Beach, FL - Sound Advice Amphitheater
September 29 Tampa, FL - Ford Amphitheatre
September 30 Atlanta, GA - Chastain Park Amphitheatre
