Upcoming Santana dates
Dates and live ticket listings appear here as soon as they are on sale. The guide below covers what to know before you buy.
Santana seats: the balanced-sound rule
The seat to buy for Santana is a centered one with some height: the lower bowl facing the stage in an arena, or the middle of the covered pavilion at an amphitheater. The band takes its name from guitarist Carlos Santana, who started it in San Francisco in 1966, and its shows run long on guitar solos and layered Latin percussion. From the center you hear the guitar and the drums in balance; from the extreme front corners, the speakers favor one side.
Closeness matters less here than at a pop show. Pay for the angle, not the row number.
Bowl, floor, pavilion or lawn for Santana
Arenas
- Lower bowl facing the stage: the best choice. You sit up out of the floor crowd, typically close to the soundboard, where engineers set the mix.
- Lower bowl beside the stage: a closer look at Carlos Santana's hands and the percussion riser (the raised platform for the drums and congas), with less even sound.
- Floor: close but level, so past the midpoint you are watching screens and the backs of heads.
Amphitheaters
- Center pavilion: covered, comfortable and well balanced.
- Lawn: the relaxed, lower-cost option. The extended instrumentals lose some punch at that distance, so it suits fans who are there for the mood more than the details.
Casino theaters and Las Vegas: Santana up close
Santana often plays resort and casino theaters, and it has spent long stretches performing in Las Vegas, his home city. In a room the size of a House of Blues, distance barely matters, so the front rows are rarely worth a premium. A centered seat in the orchestra (the main floor) or the first balcony rows gives you the whole band at once.
One warning holds in every building: seats next to or behind the stage, unless sold plainly as side view, look straight into drum risers and speaker stacks, and much of the band vanishes.
Woodstock, Abraxas and the Supernatural comeback
Carlos Santana was born in the Jalisco town of Autlán de Navarro, Mexico, on July 20, 1947, and he is the only member who has played in every lineup. A set list usually draws on two high points.
- The first wave: Woodstock made the band famous: a 45-minute set on the afternoon of day two, August 16, 1969. The debut, Santana (1969), peaked at No. 4; Abraxas (1970) and Santana III (1971) each topped the Billboard 200. "Black Magic Woman" peaked at No. 4 and "Evil Ways" at No. 9. "Oye Como Va" and "Samba Pa Ti" come from the same era.
- The jazz turn: Caravanserai, Welcome and Borboletta pushed toward jazz fusion, which still shows up in the long instrumental passages.
- The comeback: Supernatural (1999) needed 18 weeks of climbing to hit No. 1, a run that Guinness World Records lists as the longest gap between No. 1 albums. Two singles went to No. 1, "Smooth" featuring Rob Thomas and "Maria Maria" featuring The Product G&B. The record went 15 times platinum and collected eight Grammys, Album of the Year among them.
In 1998 the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted the classic lineup. US certifications credit the band with over 47 million records. Recent releases: Santana IV (2016), Africa Speaks (2019), Blessings and Miracles (2021) and Sentient, a 2025 retrospective. Carlos Santana was a 2013 Kennedy Center honoree, and Rolling Stone placed him 11th on its 2023 list of the greatest guitarists. His wife, Cindy Blackman Santana, is the touring drummer; he proposed to her on stage in Tinley Park, Illinois, and they married in December 2010.
Santana tour dates on record, 2016 to 2025
- 2016: the Santana IV reunion, with Journey's Neal Schon, toured briefly. A live album captured its House of Blues show at Mandalay Bay on March 21, 2016.
- Las Vegas: the band's long-running House of Blues Las Vegas residency was still going in 2019, a year that marked 50 years since Woodstock and 20 since Supernatural. Before that, the Hard Rock Hotel hosted "Supernatural Santana: A Trip through the Hits" until 2011.
- April to November 2019: the Africa Speaks tour.
- 2024: the Oneness Tour with Counting Crows.
- Spring 2025: a short North American Oneness leg of eight shows, April 16 to 29, beginning at a casino resort in Highland, California (Yaamava'), and ending at The Pinnacle in Nashville.
- Summer 2025: 29 European and UK Oneness shows between June 9 and August 11. The leg began in Łódź, Poland, at Atlas Arena, reached London's O2 on June 21 and included seven Spanish dates.
For anything newer, use the event listings attached to this page.
Demand, postponements and a long night out
- Centered close seats go early. Repeat fans snap up center lower-bowl and front-orchestra seats right after the on-sale.
- Las Vegas shows sell to travelers. Weekends and holiday weeks fill sooner than midweek nights.
- Upper levels and lawns often remain late. In big buildings those zones often still have inventory a few days out, and their resale prices may slip.
- Dates can move. After heat and dehydration caused Carlos Santana to collapse during a July 2022 show at Michigan's Pine Knob Music Theatre, the following date was postponed, and six others were moved as a precaution.
Every Reserved Seat order includes guaranteed entry. Expect a late finish, since solos and percussion features stretch the set, and check the venue's current bag policy before you go. Tour news is posted at santana.com.
Frequently asked questions
Who is in Santana's band?
Carlos Santana leads the band and is its only constant member since 1966. His wife, Cindy Blackman Santana, plays drums on tour, and the lineup includes several percussionists.
Is the lawn a good choice for a Santana concert?
It works for a relaxed night at a lower price, but the long instrumental passages lose detail at a distance. Center pavilion seats give the better sound.
Did Santana play Woodstock?
Yes. Its afternoon set on August 16, 1969, about 45 minutes long, turned the band into an international name.
Which Santana songs are usually in the set?
Expect Oye Como Va, Black Magic Woman, Smooth, Maria Maria, Evil Ways and Samba Pa Ti in most sets. The longer fusion pieces change from night to night.
Has Santana toured recently?
The band played eight North American Oneness dates in April 2025 and 29 European and UK dates from June to August 2025. Current shows, if any, appear in the listings here.