Santana

Carlos Will Play Eric Clapton Festival To Benefit Crossroads Centre

Famed rock guitarist Eric Clapton will stage a one-time three-day music event in Dallas to raise funds for the Crossroads Centre. Set for June 4-6 at the Cotton Bowl Stadium, the Crossroads Guitar Festival will culminate in an all-star concert featuring Clapton, B.B. King, Carlos Santana, Queen’s Brian May, Pat Metheny, Jimmy Vaughan and Joe Walsh, among others. Carlos and friends will appear on June 6.

Founded by Clapton in 1997, the Crossroads Centre is a chemical addiction treatment and education center that provides residential care, family and aftercare programs on the island of Antigua. The organization also operates a separate facility, the Bevon House, exclusively for Antiguan residents, and the local school-based education series “Breaking the Cycle.”

Opening day (4-9 p.m.) admission is priced at $15, while second day (1-9 p.m.) tickets are $30. Tickets for the festival’s final day (11 p.m. Guitar Center Village opening; 1 p.m. Cotton Bowl concert) are $60. Tickets go on sale March 13 via Ticketmaster. All proceeds will benefit Crossroads Centre.

The all-day June 6 concert at the Cotton Bowl Stadium will boast Booker T & the MGs, as well as Vaughan and Clapton’s touring groups as the house bands. Other guests include Doyle Bramhall II, J.J. Cale, Larry Carlton, Robert Cray, Buddy Guy, David Hidalgo, Eric Johnson, Sonny Landreth, Robert Randolph, Otis Rush, Hubert Sumlin, Dan Tyminski and Steve Vai.

Over the three days, the Crossroads Guitar Festival will feature exhibits and clinics sponsored by U.S. musical instrument retailer Guitar Center. The second day will feature performances on three stages, one of which will be sponsored by Sirius Satellite Radio, which will broadcast from the festival.