Rocker Carlos Santana wants to regroup with his original bandmates and return to the site of the legendary 1969 Woodstock music festival to celebrate its upcoming 50th anniversary.
Santana performed alongside the likes of Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, The Who, and Jimi Hendrix at the iconic show, which took place on a farm in Bethel, New York in August, 1969.
Woodstock will turn 50 in 2019, and Santana is already working on big plans to commemorate the occasion.
“I plan to do something with (his current band, including his wife, drummer Cindy Blackman), hopefully part of the original band, and also with (former collaborator) Larry Graham,” Santana told RollingStone.com. “So I might be coming to Woodstock with three bands.”
Like many of the artists who hit the stage at Woodstock, which took place at the height of the hippy culture of the 1960s, the iconic guitarist was high on a number of psychedelics for his gig – and it made for a memorable experience.
“That (1969 Woodstock) was basically some of the highest I’ve been in front of so many people (sic),” he shared. “To peak with LSD or peyote in front of 400,000 people, you almost have no control of anything.”
Despite his drug-induced haze, Santana’s set was among the highlights of the festival – and the musician, who turns 70 next week (July 20), wouldn’t rule out taking a few mind-altering substances when he heads back to Woodstock in two years’ time.
After the interviewer cast doubt on whether the star would be “doing peyote at the Woodstock 50th”, Santana replied, “I’m not afraid. Seriously, I’ll do it if you do it.”
“Fifty years went fast,” he added, “but now I feel even younger and more clear, and I have more energy and more conviction than back then.”
Santana isn’t the only one thinking about Woodstock’s 50th anniversary – in 2014, event co-creator Michael Lang discussed his hopes of staging another installment of the bash in 2019, although he has yet to share any details.
He previously worked on two official Woodstock follow-up events in 1994 and 1999, as well as a 40th anniversary edition in 2009.
