Santana – Mystic Lake Amphitheater – Shakopee MN – August 27th 2026

Live Nation presents Santana with special guests The Doobie Brothers at Mystic Lake Amphitheater on August 27th 2026

Review and photos by Kyle Hansen

The opening notes of “Rockin’ Down the Highway” came roaring across Mystic Lake Amphitheater Thursday night, and for the next 80 minutes The Doobie Brothers made a convincing case that classic rock doesn’t have to live in the past.

The band brought its Oneness Tour to Shakopee on Aug. 27, opening an evening that would later feature Santana. The Doobies took the stage at approximately 7:05 p.m., launching into a 15-song set that moved comfortably between rock, soul, pop and the band’s signature California sound.

There was an immediate sense of familiarity in the amphitheater. “Rockin’ Down the Highway” gave the evening a strong start before “Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)” and “Dependin’ on You” kept the momentum going.

But the first major shift came with “I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near).”

The Michael McDonald-era material remains one of the most distinctive parts of the Doobie Brothers catalog, and hearing the song in a live setting brought a different texture to the evening. It was smoother than the opening rockers, but no less engaging.

The band followed with “Walk This Road” and “It Keeps You Runnin’,” showing that the group’s musical identity has always been broader than straight-ahead rock. “Minute by Minute” continued that soulful stretch of the set, giving the audience another opportunity to settle into the groove.

For me, one of the most enjoyable aspects of the performance was the way the band moved between eras without making the transitions feel forced.

The Doobie Brothers have accumulated a remarkable catalog over the years, and the setlist made good use of it.

“Without You” and “Jesus Is Just Alright” brought the energy back up before “Takin’ It to the Streets,” which opened with a saxophone solo. The song’s combination of rock, soul and rhythm and blues seemed particularly well suited to a warm summer evening in an outdoor amphitheater.

Then came “Long Train Runnin’.”

The song turned into one of the night’s biggest musical workouts, stretching into an extended jam and drum solo. What could easily have been a straightforward run through a familiar hit instead became a chance for the musicians to show why these songs have remained staples of classic-rock radio.

“China Grove” followed, accompanied by band introductions, and the crowd response was immediate.

At that point, the concert had settled into a comfortable rhythm: one recognizable song after another, played with enough energy to keep the performance from feeling like a nostalgia tour.

“Black Water” provided another highlight. The song’s distinctive acoustic character gave the set a different flavor before the band moved into “What a Fool Believes.”

That song, written by Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald, brought the evening back to the sophisticated pop-soul sound that became such an important part of the Doobie Brothers’ identity.

Then came the inevitable finale.

“Listen to the Music.”

The opening notes were met with a wave of recognition from the crowd. By the time the chorus arrived, the amphitheater was singing along, turning the final song into a fitting communal ending.

And that was ultimately what made The Doobie Brothers’ performance work.

There was no need to reinvent the songs. The band trusted the material.

The music carried decades of memories with it, but the performance never felt like a museum piece. “Long Train Runnin’” still had muscle. “China Grove” still rocked. “Black Water” still had its laid-back charm, and “Listen to the Music” still did exactly what its title promised.

The setting helped, too. Under the evening sky at Mystic Lake, the band’s blend of rock, soul and pop had plenty of room to breathe. The audience was large enough to make the big moments feel big, but the performance retained enough warmth to avoid becoming impersonal.

By the time The Doobie Brothers walked offstage, they had accomplished exactly what an opening act on a classic-rock double bill should do: leave the crowd energized and ready for what was next.

Santana had a tough act to follow.

But the Doobie Brothers had already made their point.

After more than five decades, the highway is still rolling.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 star

Carlos Santana has never needed many words to make his point.

Give him a guitar, a stage and a few thousand people willing to listen, and the music does the rest.

That was certainly the case Thursday night at Mystic Lake Amphitheater, where Santana closed out the Minnesota stop of the Oneness Tour with a performance that was energetic, colorful and, at times, almost hypnotic.

Following an opening set from The Doobie Brothers, Santana took the stage around 8:50 p.m. and immediately went to work with “Soul Sacrifice.” The familiar instrumental gave the band room to stretch out, while Santana’s guitar provided the unmistakable voice that has defined his music for generations.

From the first notes, the emphasis was on rhythm.

“Jin-go-lo-ba” and “Evil Ways” followed, with Santana’s guitar moving effortlessly between sharp bursts of intensity and long, sustained notes. “Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen” brought one of the night’s earliest major crowd reactions, followed by “Oye cómo va,” another song that seemed to have the entire amphitheater moving.

What made the performance especially enjoyable was Santana’s willingness to let the songs breathe.

This wasn’t a concert built around rushing from one hit to the next. The band frequently stretched the arrangements, giving the percussionists, bassist, keyboard player and Santana himself opportunities to interact.

At times, the music felt less like a traditional rock concert and more like a rhythmic conversation happening onstage.

That was particularly evident during the bass and drum solo. Rather than simply serving as a transition between songs, the extended instrumental passage became a showcase for the musicianship that has always been central to Santana’s sound.

The audience responded enthusiastically.

“She’s Not There” and “Hope You’re Feeling Better” kept the momentum going before the band moved into a run of songs associated with Santana’s later career.

“The Game of Love” provided a melodic change of pace, while “(Da le) Yaleo” brought the Latin-rock pulse back to the forefront.

Then came “Put Your Lights On.”

The song created one of the evening’s more reflective moments, with Santana’s guitar carrying much of the emotional weight. It was a reminder that his playing isn’t simply about speed or technical ability. His best moments come from knowing when to hold a note, when to let it bend and when to leave space around it.

“Corazón espinado” and “Maria Maria” followed, and the energy in the amphitheater climbed again.

By then, the audience was completely engaged.

“Foo Foo” kept the rhythm moving before the band returned for the encore. “Toussaint L’Ouverture” provided another opportunity for the musicians to stretch out, followed by another drum solo.

And then came “Smooth.”

The opening guitar lines were enough to produce one final eruption from the crowd.

The song has become so familiar over the past quarter-century that it could easily have been treated as a nostalgia piece. Instead, Santana and the band gave it the same energy and musical attention as the older material.

That was perhaps the most impressive aspect of the evening.

Santana didn’t divide his career into “old songs” and “new songs.” Everything belonged to the same musical vocabulary. Rock, Latin rhythms, jazz, blues and pop influences flowed together naturally.

At 79, Santana remains an extraordinarily expressive guitarist. His playing throughout the evening was not about showing how fast he could play. It was about tone, phrasing and emotion.

And when Santana found a particularly beautiful phrase, the audience knew it.

There were moments when the amphitheater became almost completely quiet, listening to a single guitar line hang in the air.

Then the drums would kick back in, the rhythm would return and the crowd would be on its feet again.

The new Mystic Lake Amphitheater proved to be a strong setting for the performance. The open-air venue gave the band’s sound room to expand, while the lighting added atmosphere without taking attention away from the musicians.

After The Doobie Brothers’ energetic classic-rock set, Santana offered a completely different experience—but the two performances complemented each other surprisingly well.

The Doobies brought the songs.

Santana brought the groove.

And by the end of the night, the combination had turned August 27 into one of those summer concert evenings that linger well after the final note.

Walking out of Mystic Lake, the strongest impression wasn’t simply that Santana had performed a collection of famous songs.

It was that he had created a musical environment.

For nearly two hours, the audience wasn’t just listening to Santana’s guitar. We were following it—through rock, blues, Latin rhythms and decades of musical history.

The songs may have been familiar.

The feeling wasn’t.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Santana’s Mystic Lake performance was a celebration of everything that has made his music endure: rhythm, collaboration, improvisation and, above all, a guitar sound that remains instantly recognizable.

After all these years, Carlos Santana still knows how to make a guitar sing.