Santana / The Doobie Brothers at Morton Amphitheater, Riverside (Kansas City) MO (2026-08-26)

Of silver dreams and a golden reality where two Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted musical acts (and the audience) become One–

The Oneness Tour is a unique summer outing, just wrapping up their run, featuring the legendary pair of Santana and The Doobie Brothers embarking on a run together which included Morton Amphitheater in Riverside, MO, that is maybe the most musically proficient tour of the season.

The tour began in June in Chicago, combining for more than a century of musical history, and was a somewhat unusual pairing, that ended up working better than expected. Both originating in California, the Doobies delivered their soulful sharp hooks and harmonies, and Santana would follow with their unique Latin rhythmic guitar and percussion extravaganza with each proving their career longevity goes beyond nostalgia and reliving their heydays.

Named the same as their 1979 album (and though no selections from that record were played), Carlos Santana and the band began their 105 min. headlining set strongly, following an intro of shown Woodstock-era footage, with their opening, “Soul Sacrifice.”

Familiar hits “Jin-go-lo-ba”, “Evil Ways”, “Black Magic Woman / Gypsy Queen” and “Oye cómo va” followed, which found even the oldest in the audience, standing up and dancing, as evidenced on-screen by everyone celebrating from their seats.

Each of those songs also gave Santana some leeway of improvisation, as only he can, to extend some passages, expressively change the tone of the song from more emotive and rhythmic, to more fiercer and pronounced, with a strum of his guitar.

Like a master painter, sports legend, or actors, Santana made it all look so effortless; whether sitting back on his chair playing guitar while chewing gum, or standing while jamming in between picking up and shaking percussion instruments. What is in actual fact very difficult, was made to look like second nature, from a craftsman that’s been doing this for more than sixty years.

The band, as usual, is a formidable ensemble, with multiple percussionists, keyboards, bass, drums, guitar and vocals creating their large sound, anchored by his wife, Cindy Blackman Santana behind the drum kit, who remains as formidable as her younger days when playing with Lenny Kravitz.

Coupled with percussionists Karl Perazzo and Paoli Mejías, the beats were heavy and foundational on this night. Mrs. Santana and bassist Benny Rietveld shone on a mid-set solo (complete with Black Sabbath outro) and the drummer would get a second solo, to help drive the encore.

Vocalists Andy Vargas and Ray Greene (who also played trombone) helped keep the crowd entertained and engaged throughout and had the harmony skills when singing together on song choruses, such as on the band’s version of a Zombies standard.

Greene took the lead on “The Game of Love”, the 2002 hit done with Michelle Branch, making for a slower, more simmering version than Branch’s own recent energetic reboot of the track with New Radicals’ Gregg Alexander.

Santana himself let his guitar work do most of the talking, though did take the time twice during the set, to stop and acknowledge the moment and our place in the universe, and to wish everyone good health and joy, as he is typically known to do.

“Maria Maria,” one of many singles from the 30 million-selling, nine-time Grammy Award winning album, Supernatural, found the crowd subbing in for Wyclef’s part on the record, as clips from the 1999 music video were played on-screen.

The encore (“it’s a hot one”) included the aforementioned Blackman-Santana drum solo, which left the drummer and the audience breathless, and the evening would end, with the 1999 mega-hit that topped the Billboard 100 Chart for twelve weeks, “Smooth” with the band asking the crowd to “give me your heart” just one last time.

The Doobie Brothers got the evening started with a proficient and skilled 75-minute set that mostly showcased their cache of five decades of hits, still on radio rotation locally. Patrick Simmons and Tom Johnston remain the band’s convincing musical grounding, John McFee flexibly moved between guitar, harmonica and other instruments, and the welcome return of Michael McDonald, whose baritone helped define the band’s late-’70s period, adds even more reason to see the band with this classic lineup.

Still rockin’ down the highway, the set was mostly a greatest-hits filled jukebox come to life, which, like Jesus, was just alright with us and the crowd. McDonald was great on those classics that featured his vocals- “I Keep Forgettin’”, “Takin’ it to the Streets”, and “What a Fool Believes”– at 74 years young, this “wise man (still) has the power.”

Other hits, “China Grove,” “Long Train Runnin’,” and “Black Water” got the fans moving, especially on the latter, when the lyric was changed from “Mississippi moon, won’t you keep on shining” to “Kansas City moon.”

Their set-ending “Listen to the Music” had the audience doing exactly that while singing along word-for-word, proving these classics remain generationally durable and really need no additional explanations. That made it fine that the band was mostly all business and enjoying themselves, playing what everyone was hoping to hear.​​​

By having two legendary acts on a single bill, The Oneness Tour succeeds by bringing two massive musical catalogs, and more than enough familiar songs to keep 16,000 singing for hours. Each band both respects their storied past (while not being restricted or trapped in it) and generally let their rock, soul, blues and Latin music speak for itself. The Power of One.

(Photography Note- none allowed for local media for The Doobie Brothers)

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National / International act coming through the Midwest / Kansas City area? Please email details to johnc@weheartmusic.com with a good lead time to be considered for Show Preview and Show Coverage consideration.