Legendary Guitarist Carlos Santana Announces His Star-Studded New Album, Blessings and Miracles, Due Out Oct. 15 on BMG
First single “Move,” with Rob Thomas (and American Authors), out Aug. 18.
Other guests include Chris Stapleton, G-Eazy, Steve Winwood and more
LOS ANGELES, CA (August 18, 2021) – Multi-Grammy Award-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Fame guitarist Carlos Santana has announced today that his star-studded, masterful new album, Blessings and Miracles, will be released worldwide via BMG on October 15. The record’s dazzling first single, “Move,” which sees the music legend and guitar icon reteamed with Matchbox 20 singer Rob Thomas (along with American Authors), will be released on August 18.
In addition to “Move,” Santana’s collaboration “She’s Fire” with Diane Warren & G-Eazy is available now.
Blessings and Miracles is one of the most ambitious, inspired and magical albums of Santana’s storied career, on which the legendary guitarist aims higher than ever. “The title of this album comes from my belief that we’re born with heavenly powers that allows us to create blessings and miracles,” Santana says. “The world programs you to be unworthy of those gifts, but we have to utilize light, spirit and soul – they’re indestructible and immutable. Those are the three main elements on this album.”
In addition to the above talents, Blessings and Miracles sees Santana collaborating with a diverse host of brilliant artists, writers and producers including Chris Stapleton, Steve Winwood, Chick Corea, Rick Rubin, Corey Glover, Kirk Hammett, Ally Brooke and Narada Michael Walden, among others, on genre-bending, hook-filled knockout musical celebrations.
The record also features bravura performances from members of Santana’s touring band (including drummer Cindy Blackman Santana and singer Tommy Anthony), as well as impeccable vocals and keyboards by the guitarist’s son, Salvador Santana, and stunning lead vocals by daughter, Stella Santana.
Expectations understandably run high with the pairing of Carlos Santana and Rob Thomas, whose 1999 multiple Grammy-winning smash “Smooth” became a worldwide staple – and the two performers have turned in a new classic. “Move” is a grinding, grooving and breathtaking mix of pop and Latin rock with sure-fire hooks for days. Thomas, backed by the vocal talents of Zac Barnett and American Authors, is dynamic and sensual, and Santana matches his supreme performance with solos that explode with tectonic force.
“‘Move’ came about very much like how ‘Smooth’ happened,” Santana recalls. “It was like divine intelligence behind the scenes, and I just knew I had to record it with Rob. The song is about awakening your molecules. Ignite and activate yourself – you know, move. When Rob and I work together, we have a sound that’s splendiferous.”
The album’s second single, “She’s Fire,” is a hypnotically soulful ballad that works its way into your body chemistry and stays there. It’s one of two cuts written by mega-award-winning, chart-topping composer Diane Warren, and it sees Santana wrapping his exquisite guitar melodies around an enticing narrative spun by the rapper G-Eazy. “I’m so honored that Diane reached out to me and sent me her songs,” says Santana. Regarding G-Eazy, the guitarist is no less effusive. “He’s so talented. I’m thrilled at how we both sound on this song,” he says. “It reminds me of when Bill Graham once told me: ‘Your music is spiritual and sensual. That’s who you are.’ And that’s the message of ‘She’s Fire.’”
Santana spent much of the past two years recording Blessings and Miracles, serving as producer and collaborating with other record makers. Recording during Covid created a challenge only in that some musicians were separated geographically, beamed into sessions via technology; inspiration, however, was never in short supply. “It’s amazing how we can record together these days without being in the same studio,” Santana notes. “I just close my eyes and I’m in the same room with whomever I’m playing with, even if they’re somewhere far away. We share frequencies together.”
As for the stellar talents that appear alongside him on Blessings and Miracles, Santana admits that he’s sometimes surprised at how they magically enter his life. “I don’t choose people – it’s like I’m chosen,” he says. “But, of course, I’m honored to work with such incredible artists. I’m a surfer riding those waves that become songs by different artists, creators and architects. I’m very fortunate that I have the opportunity to do that. It’s a gift I don’t take for granted.”
Ahead of the release of Blessings and Miracles, Santana and his band will mark their long-awaited return to the concert stage after 18 months off. On August 25, Santana will resume their multi-year residency at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas (shows run from August 25 thru September. 4, with additional dates from November 3 thru December 11).
Santana’s Blessings and Miracles tour begins on September 11 at the Borgata Spa & Resort in Atlantic City, NJ, and will make stops in Richmond, VA, Orlando, Augusta, Tulsa, and more before it concludes on October 2 at the Choctaw Grand Theater in Durant, OK.
Blessings and Miracles full tracklist:
1. Ghost of Future Pull/ New Light
2. Santana Celebration
3. Rumbalero (featuring Salvador Santana & Asdru Sierra)
4. Joy (Carlos Santana & Chris Stapleton)
5. Move (Carlos Santana, Rob Thomas, Zac Barnett & American Authors)
6. A Whiter Shade of Pale (featuring Steve Winwood)
7. Break (featuring Ally Brooke)
8. She’s Fire (Diane Warren, G-Eazy & Carlos Santana)
9. Peace Power (featuring Corey Glover)
10. America for Sale (featuring Kirk Hammett & Marc Osegueda)
11. Breathing Underwater (featuring Stella Santana, Avi Snow, MVCA)
12. Mother Yes
13. Song for Cindy
14. Angel Choir (featuring Gayle Moran Corea)/ All Together (featuring Chick Corea)
15. Ghost of Future Pull II
* Vinyl Edition of Blessings and Miracles includes Yo Estare (featuring Ally Brooke)
For more information and tickets, please visit:
Santana.com.
About Carlos Santana:
For more than five decades – from Santana’s earliest days as a groundbreaking Afro-Latin-blues-rock fusion outfit in San Francisco – Carlos Santana has been the visionary force behind artistry that transcends musical genres and generational, cultural and geographical boundaries. To date, Santana has won ten Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammys, with a record-tying nine Grammys for a single project for 1999’s Supernatural(including Album of the Year and Record of the Year for “Smooth”). He has received the Billboard Century Award (1996), was ushered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1998), received the Billboard Latin Music Awards’ Lifetime Achievement honor (2009), and was the recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors Award (2013). Among many other distinctions, Carlos Santana has been cited by Rolling Stone as #15 on their list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” and has joined the Rolling Stones as one of only two bands to have an album reach the Top 10 in every decade since the 1960s. In 2018, he released his first MasterClass, and recently celebrated three epic milestones – the 20th anniversary of his groundbreaking album Supernatural, the 50th anniversary of his legendary performance at Woodstock, and the 50th anniversary of his masterpiece Abraxas.
