When Carlos Santana and Eric Clapton took the stage at the Crossroads Guitar Festival, no one could have predicted the energy that would follow. What began as a collaboration between two guitar titans soon transformed into something supernatural. As the opening notes of Black Magic Woman filled the air, the atmosphere grew heavy, almost otherworldly.
Santana’s signature tone, fiery and hypnotic, cut through the night like a spell being cast. His guitar seemed less like an instrument and more like an extension of his spirit, channeling raw energy with every strike of the strings. Each riff carried a dangerous beauty, pulling the crowd into a trance they could not escape.
Then Clapton entered, his blues-soaked phrasing pouring out like the voice of a haunted soul. He didn’t simply play—he wept through his instrument, every bend of the note feeling like a cry from another realm. Together, their interplay created a dialogue that felt like it wasn’t meant for human ears alone.
Whispers spread through the crowd as listeners swore they felt the presence of Peter Green, the Fleetwood Mac founder who originally penned the song. Some described the sensation as if Green’s ghost had risen from the shadows, guiding every chord. The performance became more than tribute—it felt like resurrection.
Audience members stood frozen, unable to move, as if bound by the spell unfolding onstage. Eyes were wide, goosebumps rose, and silence hung heavy except for the sound of the guitars’ voices. Each note seemed to stretch time itself, weaving a connection between the living and the beyond.
By the end, the crowd erupted, though many were visibly shaken. They knew they had not just witnessed a performance, but a ritual, a communion with something larger than music. For some, it was a reminder of the mystical power the guitar holds when wielded by the right hands.
Clapton and Santana had taken Black Magic Woman and stripped it bare, then rebuilt it into something terrifyingly alive. It was eerie, electrifying, unforgettable—a night where the past returned to walk alongside the present. In that moment, two legends truly summoned the dead.
