Woodstock 50 Hype: Santana confirmed for Live Nation’s Bethel Woods anniversary event

Carlos Santana will return to the original Woodstock grounds to mark the 50th anniversary of the iconic event, according to a recent interview with Rolling Stone. The Woodstock veteran played at the inaugural festival in 1969.

The Grammy winning guitarist plans to return to Bethel Wood, NY for the Live Nation affiliated celebration event, Bethel Woods Music and Culture Festival. Santana admitted he wanted to work with the original Woodstock promoter, Michael Lang, on his Woodstock Ventures LLC event in Watkins Glen, NY. However, he goes onto explain why he decided instead to bring his talents to Live Nation’s tribute event instead.

“They have an amphitheater there. I’m going to invite whoever is still here, whether it’s Joan Baez or members from Sly Stone, and I’m going to play Santana music. Santana’s going to be the house band, but I want to be able to honor those who are still here and maybe invite rappers like Common or Kendrick Lamar. Santana’s very interested, like Miles Davis, into connecting with people from 7 years old to under 33. I don’t want to be just like a jukebox in the twilight zone, stuck in the Sixties.”

Commenting on the true spirit of Woodstock, Santana says he sees a lot of hope in younger generations that parallels older times. He’s found it in the students who march in protest of gun violence in school and the multi-generational protests against war in the Middle East.

“Those are the new hippies,” he says. “Somewhere between Woodstock and this generation, a lot of people became apathetic. They look the other way or they’re just looking at their cell phones and they don’t care what’s happening”.

Carlos Santana is gearing up for a massive 2019. In addition to the 20th anniversary of his Supernatural LP, he’s has got a new EP landing soon, dubbed In Search of Mona Lisa, along with a summer tour celebrating 50 years of Woodstock.

H/T: Poughkeepsie Journal. Via: Rolling Stone.