In Photos: Santana at Live Oak Bank Pavilion at Riverfront Park

September 25, 2021

Santana played Live Oak Pavilion at Riverfront Park on Wednesday, sept. 15. (Port City Daily/Tom Dorgan, MoonFrog Media)

WILMINGTON — The crowd came out in full force to support the iconic guitar-shredding Carlos Santana and his band on Wednesday, Sept. 15, at Live Oak Bank Pavilion at Riverfront Park. Barely a grassy knoll was left on the lawn, nor a seat in the front section of the pavilion, as folks danced, swayed, sang along, and picked a few notes on their own air guitars.

For two hours, Santana had fans happily cheering through a bevy of hits, “Black Magic Woman,” “Maria Maria,” and “Smooth” included. He also played many covers, including from The Zombies (“She’s Not There”) and The Youngbloods (“Get Together”), while teasing the audience with riffs from “Groove is in the Heart” by Dee-Lite and “Spill the Wine” by Eric Burdon and War.

Aside from his deft prowess on guitar, his wife, Cindy Santana, wowed the audience with a few impressive drum solos, as the band blended jazzy rhythms with Latin-infused spirit and straight-up rock ‘n’ roll.

Woodstock was there in imagery, at the opening of the show, and carried through in spirit, as Santana was quick to iterate to the crowd his show was meant to be an uplifting experience — even spiritual, offering positivity, embracing light, and freeing oneself from negativity that plagued much of the modern world.

It’s a message ingrained in his latest release “Blessings and Miracles,” which features another collaboration with Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty on the song “Move,” also performed at the Wilmington show. Due out Oct. 15, “Blessings and Miracles” features collaborations with Metallica’s Kirk Hammett, Steve Winwood, Chris Stapleton, Rick Rubin and Living Colour’s Corey Glover.

Below is Santana’s setlist from the Sept. 15 concert, as well as photos captured by Tom Dorgan of MoonFrog Media.