Carlos Santana goes deep as Raiders’ first superstar performer

The first superstar to perform for the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium shares his feelings: “I am crystallizing my existence, making spiritual traction.”

That’s Carlos Santana’s variation of “Just win, baby.”

The rock icon and House of Blues headliner is performing two songs at halftime of Saturday’s preseason game between the Raiders and Seahawks at Allegiant Stadium. We’ll tease to one, “Maria Maria,” a crowd favorite in Santana’s live performances.

That’s fitting, somewhat, as entertainment legend Marie Osmond is singing the national anthem.

Judith Hill, who performed at the stadium’s groundbreaking in 2017, is the pregame singer at the team’s official ribbon-cutting ceremony. She is joined by the Las Vegas House of Blues Choir. The ceremony is set for 3 p.m. in the Ford Plaza at the north end of Allegiant Stadium. The doors will open afterward, with kickoff set for 6 p.m. (the game will be telecast in Las Vegas on Fox 5).

The pregame reunites Hill with newly installed Raiders House Band front man David Perrico, who backed her at the groundbreaking event. Perrico’s band also is playing behind Santana at halftime.

Santana should feel at home, as he is a Las Vegas resident. He also is a deep-rooted Raiders fan dating to his days living in a commune in San Francisco in the early 1970s.

As the guitar great recalls, “I would go to my room and watch them on TV, and they were always losing. But they would always come back and win. Then I realized, they were from Oakland! Oakland-Oakland! Across the Bay! I loved Kenny Stabler. I loved their spirit.”

Santana was among the short list of rock legends sought by Mark Davis to perform during Raiders games.

“Carlos has been a friend of mine for many, many years,” Davis said this week. “He is a member of Raiders Nation.”

Rocking the house

Santana reopens at House of Blues at Mandalay Bay on Aug. 25, 27 and 29; and Sept. 1-4. His eagerly anticipated “Blessings and Miracles” album is due Oct. 15. The first single, “Move,” is out next week. That song is a reunion of Santana and Rob Thomas, who scored a transcendent hit with “Smooth” off the 1999 blockbuster, “Supernatural.”

Santana wants “Blessings” to reflect the success of that enduring album. He’s not being shy about it, either. The guitar great conferred with those close to him, including longtime manager Michael Vrionis, about how to make that happen.

“I want to get back on the radio again, like ‘Supernatural,’ and I asked my think tank to connect me with artists who have their finger on the pulse,” Santana says. “We talked about artists here and there, and I said, ‘What about Chris Stapleton?’ Michael said, ‘He’s country.’ And I went OOOOO-kay! Call him and ask if he will have the eyes to write something for us.”

Santana then spoke with Stapleton, who issued the hit cover of, “Tennessee Whiskey” in 2015.

“I told him, ‘We need to create mystical-medicine music to heal a world infected with darkness and fear,’” Santana recalls. And he went, ‘Oh!’ So he went and wrote the lyrics. Wait until you hear it. The song is called ‘Joy.’”

Santana and Steve Winwood have covered “Whiter Shade of Pale” for the new album. Such rockers as guitarist Kirk Hammett of Metallica, and Mark Osegueda of Death Angel are featured on “Blessings,” too.

Santana also has cut a single penned with contributions from songwriting great Diane Warren, including the collaboration with G-Eazy, “She’s Fire.”

Look for the full complement of “Blessings,” in October. We’ll be deep into the gridiron season by then.

Marie at midfield

Osmond said Friday she was impressed by her first visit to Allegiant Stadium. All the acts set for Saturday’s entertainment rehearsed at the stadium Friday afternoon. Osmond set up at the 50-yard line, just a few yards from the Raiders logo, to rehearse the anthem.

“I have to tell you, it was amazing,” Osmond said. “It was so cool, and Mark Davis asked me personaly to do it. I love him to pieces.”

Osmond also posed while laying between the 25- and 30-yard lines.

“I’m on the ‘forever-29 yard line,’” she said in text. “I died and went to heaven!”

Anderson recovering

Bob Anderson has followed up to inform that he was indeed vaccinated for COVID. The longtime Vegas stage great tested positive just before flying to Vegas for three shows this weekend at South Point Showroom. His mandatory test within 24 hours of his flight turned up positive. He says he was a little weak and has been coughing, but otherwise all right and is expected to be back to full health “within a few weeks.”

Cool Hang Alert

The reunion of the band originally known as Phatter Than Albert and gravitated to Clockwise is at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Space. The new, mashed name is Phatter Than Clockwise. The band was on the cusp — cusp, I tell you — significant stardom until it was undercut by the Napster phenomenon (if you don’t get that reference, feel free to Google).

At its peak, Clockwise band was drawing 500 per show and had signed a record deal with RCA, before it all unraveled. Austin LeDuc (vocals), Alfonso Berna (bass) and Dave McMahan (drums) are back as the core lineup. Guests include Jason Tanzer, James Caselton, Jacob Chidester and Matt Bruenig all on guitar; and Alfonso’s kid, Zini, on bass. Play it loud and pace yourselves, boys.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.