Last weekend, a combination of Coldplay, Bruno Mars, and Beyonce performed as part of the Super Bowl 50 halftime show at Santa Clara, CA. The performance was met with mixed reviews, with some enjoying the fanfare and others finding the choreographed routine to be uninspired.
Among those who objected to the set was legendary musician Carlos Santana, who not only hails from the Northern California region, but was included in part of the Super Bowl entertainment schedule. Today, Santana posted his objection to the performance, wishing instead that the NFL had booked “real live music” for the event. He cites a number of “local iconic bands” that could have been chosen, like Metallica, Steve Miller Band, Journey and, of course, himself.
Read the note below:
Dear NFL/CBS….I would like to take this opportunity to thank you both for including me as a part of your Super Bowl entertainment. I do feel compelled to point out to you that the Halftime Show should have included some of the local iconic bands that the World would have loved to see perform. Bands like Metallica, Steve Miller, Journey and yours truly. We would have rocked the Half Time Show and done the SF Bay Area proud. This is just an invitation for you to consider iconic bands as part of your Half Time entertainment. Real live music, real live vocals, and give the audience real live chills.
Carlos Santana
Maybe if we’re lucky, the NFL will book Santana’s new supergroup, Mega Nova, for Super Bowl 51. That band features Wayne Shorter, Cindy Blackman Santana, Marcus Miller and Herbie Hancock, and they just announced their first performance earlier today.