Holly V. HaysIndianapolis Star
In the days before my call with Carlos Santana, I spent a lot of time convincing myself I'd be totally cool.
And I was! Really! Until Santana, the man whose Woodstock performance I watched dozens of times as a teenager, when ‘60s rock became my entire personality, greeted me with a cheery “Hi, hi.”
Panic.
But I had a plan. I knew generally what I wanted to talk about ahead of the 76-year-old guitar god's June 23 stop at Ruoff Music Center: his upcoming tour and the 25th anniversary of his smash album, “Supernatural.” Just work your plan, Holly, and it'll work for you.
So, after over-enthusiastically asking him how he was doing (“Grateful and happy”), I launched right into the important question: In the trajectory of your career, can you tell me about the significance of “Supernatural” and its lead single, “Smooth,” featuring Rob Thomas?
Palm, meet forehead.
Some context here: "Supernatural" was, in fact, magical for Santana's career. That album earned his band eight Grammys, plus Song of the Year for Thomas and his "Smooth" cowriter. And I'm a Young Millennial, the generation for whom that song eventually became a beloved meme. There's no denying the track slaps, but it belongs to the internet now. In 2013, The Onion satirically reported the song had swept the Grammys for 13 consecutive years. People were actually buying white T-shirts that said "I'd Rather Be Listening to the Grammy-Award Winning 1999 Hit Smooth By Santana Feat. Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty," in Times New Roman.
Hence my deep cringe as soon as the words left my mouth. You could've started with anything, Holly, but you started with "Smooth." Chill.
But, in very Santana fashion, he immediately launched into a metaphor about his career and the sun.
"Once in a while you see a flare up, which is (the 1970 album) ‘Abraxas,’ or Woodstock, or ‘Supernatural,’” he said. “And all of them have to do with just being grateful. Show up and be willing to complement whatever is in front of you.”
Leave it to Carlos Santana to remind me to pause for gratitude.
That’s what he’s trying to do for all of us with the Oneness Tour, a 29-show run that kicked off June 14 with support from ‘90s rockers Counting Crows.
Dave Matthews, Creed and the New Kids: All the acts coming to Ruoff Music Center this summer
"I am aligned with the same principles and values as Bob Marley, you know, one love,” he said. “Whether we like it or not, we really are all one. So, when you come to a Santana concert, you actually feel totality and absoluteness and one note, and people start dancing, crying, laughing. It's kind of like a revival."
Next week marks the band's first return to the Noblesville amphitheater in two years. That show was derailed by a last-minute postponement, when the then-74-year-old artist called off the show minutes after supporting act Earth, Wind & Fire left the stage. The week before, he'd collapsed onstage in Michigan and had been hospitalized for heat exhaustion. He returned to a nearly sold-out crowd at Ruoff weeks later.
At his performances, Santana tries to cultivate an environment where people don’t feel ashamed or embarrassed of their desire for connection and love.
"Santana's music creates that atmosphere, that it's OK — it's actually more than OK, it's medicine — to validate your humanness,” he said.
With “Supernatural” turning 25, fans can expect to hear it featured heavily on the setlist, along with other favorites. This year also marks another milestone: 55 years since that iconic Woodstock performance.
It’s been a long career, but a happy one, he said.
"I always go to ground zero in my heart, which is gratitude, deep appreciation and thankfulness,” he said, “and then all of a sudden it just feels like the universe just opens up with an avalanche of abundance, and I receive more.”
Santana is still trying to remind us all that disconnection and divisiveness breed discontent: “The more you share, the more you receive.”
“I know it sounds very hippie to a lot of people,” Santana said, “but that's who I am."
Santana and Counting Crows at Ruoff Music Center
When: 7 p.m. June 23.
Where: Ruoff Music Center, 12880 E. 146th St. in Noblesville.
Tickets and more: livemu.sc/3yBL5Gh
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Contact IndyStar pop culture reporter Holly Hays at holly.hays@indystar.com. Follow her on X/Twitter: @hollyvhays.
