Santana savvy

Santana is about to launch his world tour in Dubai. Ahead of his concert at Dubai Festival City, we bring you the lowdown on what to expect.

It's the music event we've all been looking forward to — Carlos Santana is coming to town. Performing for the first time in the Middle East, Santana (as he and his band are better known) say they are looking forward to entertaining fans in the UAE.

Friday night promises to be paradise for music-lovers with Santana also confirming he will play all the favourites from the past three decades.

Touted as DSF 2008's trump card in entertainment, the concert takes place at Dubai Festival City — one of the city's newest outdoor concert venues.

The talents of this nimble-fingered artiste, who has sold more than 90 million records, will be on display for all to see, and tabloid! wants to make sure you don't miss a thing.

Timings

With a fancy food and beverage village available, the venue gates open at 6pm to allow fans to arrive early and enjoy the atmosphere. The concert is scheduled to start at 9pm and Santana is renowned for not making his fans wait too long. The gig is estimated to last approximately 90 minutes although the F&B village will remain open until 1am.

Dubai Festival City boasts a huge underground parking lot but additional parking will also be available nearer the arena, which is situated adjacent to the mall, to the left side as you face the Creek. Parking is free.

Dubai Festival City is home to the largest and most diverse collection of waterfront dining venues in the Middle East, offering a wide range of restaurants and cafés. Resembling a Riviera-style setting, some venues enjoy waterside, al fresco seating, while all the usual quick and easy suspects are featured.

The concert venue is just a 10-minute walk from the main Festival Square at Dubai Festival City.

Tickets

Tickets are sold out and organisers are urging people who do not have tickets to stay away from the site.

Pre-paid tickets can be collected anytime from the box office in Dubai Media City. For more information call 04-3676520. Ticket collection will also take place from the main entrance of the concert arena from 9am on Friday morning and customers are reminded to bring the email confirmation letter as well as photo identification.

Wheelchair access is available for those who require it but must be arranged in advance by calling 04-3431110.

A strict no-camera policy will be adhered to and all cameras (no matter how small) will be confiscated and stored at the main gate. Anyone caught taking photographs inside the concert venue may be removed without warning.

The concert arena is not on grass so heels are a possibility ladies, although organisers are urging people to dress for comfort as fans will be on their feet for a number of hours. A jumper is also advised as it can get chilly and a little windy by the Creek at night.

Collaborations

Santana's record sales in the 1990s were low and towards the end of the decade Arista Records' Clive Davis, who had worked with Santana at Columbia, signed him and encouraged him to record a star-studded album with mostly younger artists. The result was 1999's Supernatural, which included collaborations with Everlast, Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty, Eric Clapton, Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean, Cee-Lo Green, Maná, Dave Matthews and others.

The lead single was Smooth, a dynamic cha-cha stop-start number co-written and sung by Rob Thomas, and laced throughout with Santana's guitar fills and runs. Supernatural reached No 1 on the US album charts and the follow-up single, Maria Maria, featuring the r 'n' b duo The Product G&B, also hit No 1, spending 10 weeks there in the summer of 2000.

The tour
The Live Your Light Tour: Far East, 2008 starts in Dubai on Friday before heading to Singapore, Australia for six concerts, New Zealand and Hong Kong.

For more information visit www.santana.com