Back in the late 1990s an Arizona Daily Star music critic dared to say that Carlos Santana had become a Tucson thing. After all, the Latin funk rocker/guitar whiz had a string of six or seven straight years and counting performing at the Pima County Fairgrounds stretching through the decade.
Then it dried up. He must have read the column and decided, “Whoa, I’m there way too often. They’re going to make me pay Arizona taxes.”
He cut us off for nearly a decade, until he returned for a sold-out show at the AVA at Casino del Sol in 2005. Then he skipped us again, holding out until 2011, again selling out the 5,000-seat AVA.
Four years later, he’s back and once again, the show’s sold out. He is set to go on stage at 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, at AVA, 5655 W. Valencia Road.
Saturday’s concert is the finale of AVA’s 2015 concert series, which included country superstar Kenny Chesney in July; pop singers Colbie Caillat and Christina Perri in August; and Southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd and Latin heartthrob Ricky Martin in September.
