Central Park was again the place to be on Saturday night as Savor, a Santana tribute band, rocked the stage.
Locals sat on their lawn chairs and blankets, with food and drinks in hand, to hear the cover band play Santana’s hit songs like “Smooth” and “Europa.”
Just a few minutes into their set, the audience rushed to the front of the stage to dance and sing along.
The cover band, started by lead guitarist Michael Caroff, originated in Los Angeles 16 years ago.
Caroff told the Signal how his band got started.
“I had no intention of starting a Santana tribute band. I was writing Latin rock music sort of in a Jazz fusion style and needed to find guys to play it.” said Caroff.
It was suggested to Caroff that he start a tribute band to find the style of musicians he was looking for. So he did just that.
“The tribute band took on a life of his own.” he said. “Being in a tribute band turned out to be a lot more fun than I think any of us anticipated.”
Sitting in the crowd of hundreds was Bobby Hendricks, 79, an original member of the soul vocal group The Drifters. A big Santana fan, Hendricks was excited to hear them play after moving back to Santa Clarita from Nevada.
“One of these days I might be up there myself.” said Hendricks.
While Carlos Santana is an international icon, Central Park was Savor’s world on Saturday, and we were just living in it.
