Guitarist Carlos Santana collapsed onstage Tuesday during a performance at Pine Knob Music Theatre.
Santana, 74, “was over-taken by heat exhaustion and dehydration,” his manager, Michael Vrionis, said in a statement to the Free Press. “Carlos was taken to the emergency department at McLaren Clarkston for observation and is doing well.”
A show scheduled for Wednesday evening in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, will be postponed, Vrionis said.
The collapse on stage startled fans who were there to see Santana and an earlier performance by Earth, Wind and Fire.
“He kind of sat down by the drums and fell backwards and then all hell broke loose on stage.” said Steve Oshinsky of West Bloomfield, who was in the 10th row near the center of the stage. “He was soaked, he was drenched the whole time.”
The music quickly stopped and medical personnel rushed onto the stage, Oshinsky said. They put up a black screen to provide privacy, turned on the house lights and asked the crowd to leave.
“A lot of people started to scream out like ‘we’re praying for you, Carlos,'” said former Free Press sports feature writer Jo-Ann Barnas, who was seated about 40 rows back from the right side of the stage. “You’re alright, Carlos. We’re here for you, Carlos.”
Barnas said it was hot, but before the collapse she hadn’t seen any signs that Santana, 74, or the previous act, Earth, Wind and Fire, were struggling in the heat.
She said his energy level and his music were every bit as good as a show he played there in 2019.
“Carlos was on fire,” she said. “He had just performed a solo before that and he was great.”
Oshinsky said It was just before 10 p.m. when Santana, clad all in white including his trademark fedora, collapsed.
“He had played like seven or eight songs,” Oshinsky said. “He was drinking water and coffee. I kept seeing them bring him a coffee cup.”
Santana was seen waving to fans as he was taken offstage, according to a report from Variety. He did not return and the audience was asked to leave around 10:30 p.m.
“They just told us to leave the venue, but so many are still here, stunned, looking at a near empty stage,” tweeted Barnas. “Santana was about one minute into a song he had collaborated with Chris Stapleton. Carlos was calling for healing and joy.”
Santana and Earth, Wind and Fire were at Pine Knob as part of the “Miraculous Supernatural 2022” tour. In December, he canceled shows for his residency at Las Vegas’ House of Blues after undergoing an unscheduled heart procedure.
Detroit summer concert rundown:The season is fully hopping for the first time since 2019
More:Black Women’s Expo returns to Detroit, bringing entertainment, businesses to downtown
Free Press reporter Eve Sampson contributed to this report.
