Orianthi launches a power trio with Cindy Blackman Santana and Rhonda Smith
The Power of 3 announce a self-titled all-analog debut for December 11 and drop a double A-side single.
Aug 31, 2026
Credit: Premier Guitar / She2Music (via source)
Orianthi has a new band. The Power of 3 pairs the guitarist with drummer Cindy Blackman Santana and bassist Rhonda Smith, two players whose resumes run through Lenny Kravitz, Prince, Jeff Beck and Carlos Santana. The self-titled debut, announced August 31, arrives December 11 on She2Music and was tracked entirely to analog.
The group marked the announcement with a double single, "War In The Streets" backed with "Treat Me Like A Lady." Carlos Santana guests on the record, and it was produced by Eddie Kramer, whose credits stretch back to Hendrix, Zeppelin and Kiss.
Orianthi has spent years as a hired gun and solo artist without a fixed band identity; a co-led trio with two musicians of this stature is a different proposition, and the analog-only approach signals what kind of record they wanted to make.
Why it matters
A guitar-bass-drums trio co-led by three women with this much high-profile session history is rare at this level, and it puts Orianthi back in a band context rather than a solo or hired-gun role.
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