Las Vegas Sun : Last week was a memorable one for Carlos Santana, an artist who has countless musical milestones to reflect on through the course of his decades-long career.
Clark County Commission Vice Chairman Justin Jones was there to recognize Santana with the county’s Icon Award, which has only been given out once before to Caesars Entertainment paying tribute to the High Roller observation wheel.
“He moved here, he just doesn’t come perform here,” Jones said of Santana. “Over the last decade he’s been a tremendous resource to our community.”
The guitarist has participated in charitable works with local groups including Three Square Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity, Spread the Word Nevada and many more, while portions of proceeds from ticket sales of his concerts have raised more than $230,000 for the Milagro Foundation and the House of Blues Music Foundation.
Also at the event, his manager Michael Vrionis announced a multi-year extension of “An Intimate Evening with Santana: Greatest Hits Live,” which wraps up its spring sessions at the House of Blues on May 25, 27, 28 and 29. And Steve Gold, the man who rescued the stage from the legendary Woodstock concert in 1969 where Santana and many other legends performed, was also in Las Vegas to donate a piece of that stage to the House of Blues décor—after Santana signed his autograph to the plank, of course.
After recovering from heart surgery late last year and returning to the stage in early 2022, the 74-year-old artist said he’s feeling great and ready to keep spreading good vibes in Las Vegas and beyond with his upcoming summer tour.
“Music for me is a way to give people a deep sense of self-worth,” he said. “There’s a lot of people [these days] walking around with their tail between their legs, or really anger and bitter. I don’t want to be like that. Music is about unity and harmony … and besides music, I get to practice in front of the whole world my shamanic powers.”
Santana said that since he broke through on that Woodstock stage, he realized music gives him a platform to help others heal and live a life like Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama or Desmond Tutu.
“I love them because they were resilient and consistent in bringing hope and courage,” he said. “Being in Las Vegas has made me realize people come from Paris or New Zealand [to see the show] and I have to be very present with them and say thank you. It’s important to spend more time with gratitude, thankfulness and appreciation.”
Source: Las Vegas Sun
