Carlos Santana to Play National Anthem at NBA Finals
Carlos Santana will play the national anthem for his Bay Area hometown team before Game 2 of the NBA finals on Sunday, June 7th. His wife, Cindy Blackman Santana, will join the Latin-rock guitar legend on drums for the performance, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
Sunday night’s game at Oracle Arena in Oakland will see the Golden State Warriors take on the Cleveland Cavaliers. Blackman Santana, a jazz and rock drummer and band leader who is perhaps best known for her work with Lenny Kravitz, is from Ohio, so regional and family loyalties may be put to the test.
Santana, who has won ten Grammy Awards over his enduring career, was recently featured in an episode of the American Public Television series Speakeasy, for which he chose to be interviewed by Harry Belafonte.
This won’t be the first time Santana has turned “The Star Spangled Banner” into a family affair. At Game 4 of the World Series in 2014, he brought his son Salvador up to join him on keyboards as he played the national anthem for the San Francisco Giants. Watch their performance below.
Game 2 of the NBA finals will air live at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.