Carlos Santana recalled his performance at Woodstock and getting high with Jerry Garcia before his set in an interview published Wednesday.
The legendary guitarist said he almost didn’t make it through his set at the 1969 festival because he was struggling to play while high on drugs, according to People. The star said the Grateful Dead frontman offered him some hallucinogens just before he took the stage, and he was quickly taken over by a substance-induced haze.
“When I came out onstage, I was like, ‘Oh my God, am I going to be able to play? I can’t even touch my nose,'” Santana said.
Carlos Santana
Photo by Robert Knight Archive pic.twitter.com/bByeXul9vs— bluesharp (@bluezharp) June 13, 2023
Santana said he wasn’t really sure what he ingested, but guessed that it may have been peyote, mescaline, ayahuasca or mushrooms, according to People.
The musician referenced Garcia’s drugs as “medicine,” and said he started seeing colors swirling all around him. Santana admitted he leaned on his faith to pull himself together enough to perform and described how he felt as he attempted to take the stage.
“It was like being inside a kaleidoscope,” he said to People.
“And then somebody told me, ‘Trust in God. Just ask him to keep you in time and in tune.’ So I said, ‘God, I really believe in you. If you help me right now, I won’t poo my pants in front of everybody,'” he said.
“Next thing I knew, we hit the notes and the people went, ‘Wooo!'” he said.
Santana ended up pushing through and playing an eight-song set, which played a part in his future success.
“It was a real test, and the test was, ‘You are higher than an astronaut’s butt right now with whatever Jerry Garcia shared with me,'” he told People. (RELATED: Drew Barrymore Needs To Ease Off The Psychedelic Mushrooms)
The famous guitarist said he was “absolutely not prepared” for the fame that ensued soon after that milestone moment in his career.
“Next thing I knew, we received our first royalty check, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, look at all the zeros to the right,'” he said.
Sony Pictures Classics is poised to release a documentary about Santana’s life. “Carlos” premieres June 17 at the Tribeca Film Festival, according to People.