| Concert Tour Name: | Welcome Tour |
| Artist: | Santana |
| Album: | Welcome |
| Number Of Legs: | 2 |
| Number Of Shows: | 61 in North America 28 in Europe 89 in total |
| Last Tour: | Caravanserai Tour (1972–73) |
| This Tour: | Welcome Tour (1973–74) |
| Next Tour: | Borboletta Tour (1974–75) |
The Welcome Tour was a concert tour by Santana promoting their album, Welcome. The tour began on November 13, 1973 at Colston Hall in Bristol, England and ended on October 29, 1974 at the William P. Cole, Jr. Student Activities Building in College Park, Maryland.
After releasing their new album Welcome on November 9, 1973, the band went on tour in North America and Europe to promote the release. The band started the tour with a European tour, starting on November 13, 1973 in England. The tour was scheduled to have two shows in Yugoslavia, but the band was denied entry into the country. Following the European tour, the band ended 1973 with a New Year's Eve show at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. In 1974, the band started a North American tour. After finishing a short tour with British guitarist John McLaughlin, Carlos Santana assembled a new lineup of the band. The group added saxophonist Jules Broussard and singer/keyboardist Leon Patillo. Drummer Michael Shrieve left due to health problems and he ended up getting replaced by Leon "Ndugu" Chancler for a short period. Doug Rauch quit the band and David Brown, who had played with Santana from 1966 to 1971, followed in his footsteps.
The set lists of this tour were similar to the set lists of their previous tour, the difference being the addition of "Mirage" and "Give and Take", months before their release on Borboletta and the removal of certain songs from the last tour.
One of the largest crowds Santana performed to during this tour was an appearance at the World Series of Rock festival in Cleveland's Cleveland Stadium on August 31, before a crowd of around 88,000 people. Another large crowd Santana performed to was at the First Annual Barndance and Bar B. Q. in Austin, Texas, playing to a crowd of at least 80,000 people. The band sometimes opened for other artists during this tour such as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
A show on October 11, 1974 was given a positive review by Billboard.
Live material from this tour has appeared on the following releases:
No songs from 1974 have been officially released on an album. The concerts on July 28 and September 14 were broadcast on American radio, but only the July concert has surfaced.
| City | Country | Venue | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 13, 1973 | Bristol | England | Colston Hall | |
| November 14, 1973 (2 shows) | London | Rainbow Theatre | ||
| November 15, 1973 (2 shows) | ||||
| November 16, 1973 (2 shows) | Birmingham | Birmingham Odeon | ||
| November 17, 1973 | London | Empire Pool | ||
| November 18, 1973 (2 shows) | Manchester | |||
| November 20, 1973 | Düsseldorf | West Germany | Philips Halle | |
| November 22, 1973 | Offenburg | Oberrheinhalle | ||
| November 23, 1973 | Böblingen | Sporthalle | ||
| November 25, 1973 | Frankfurt | Festhalle Messe Frankfurt | ||
| November 26, 1973 | Hamburg | Congress Centrum Hamburg | ||
| November 27, 1973 | West Berlin | Deutschlandhalle | ||
| November 26, 1973 | Brussels | Belgium | Forest National | |
| November 30, 1973 | Vienna | Austria | Wiener Stadthalle | |
| December 3, 1973 | Turin | Italy | Palasport di Torino | |
| December 5, 1973 (2 shows) | Barcelona | Spain | Palacio Municipal de Deportes | |
| December 6, 1973 (2 shows) | Madrid | Teatro Monumental | ||
| December 8, 1973 | Rotterdam | Netherlands | Sportpaleis | |
| December 9, 1973 (2 shows) | Zürich | Switzerland | Tonhalle | |
| December 12, 1973 | Rome | Italy | Palazzo dello Sport |
| City | Country | Venue | |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 31, 1973 | San Francisco | United States | Winterland Ballroom |
| January 14, 1974 | Ithaca | Barton Hall | |
| July 13, 1974 | Allendale Charter Township | G.V.S.C. Fieldhouse | |
| July 22, 1974 | Edmonton | Canada | Kinsmen Field House |
| July 24, 1974 | Vancouver | Pacific Coliseum | |
| July 25, 1974 | Seattle | United States | Paramount Theatre |
| July 26, 1974 | Portland | Paramount Theatre | |
| July 28, 1974 | San Diego | Balboa Stadium | |
| July 31, 1974 | Los Angeles | ||
| August 2, 1974 | Santa Barbara | Robertson Gymnasium | |
| August 4, 1974 | Milwaukee | Henry Maier Festival Park | |
| August 6, 1974 | Clear Lake | Surf Ballroom | |
| August 7, 1974 | Green Bay | Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena | |
| August 9, 1974 | Mays Landing | Atlantic City Race Course | |
| August 10, 1974 | Clarkston | Pine Knob Music Theatre | |
| August 11, 1974 | Orchard Park | Rich Stadium | |
| August 14, 1974 | Winnipeg | Canada | Winnipeg Arena |
| August 16, 1974 | Allendale Charter Township | United States | G.V.S.C. Fieldhouse |
| August 17, 1974 | Saint Paul | Saint Paul Civic Center | |
| August 18, 1974 | Milwaukee | MECCA Auditorium | |
| August 31, 1974 | Cleveland | Cleveland Stadium | |
| September 1, 1974 | Austin | Memorial Stadium | |
| September 13, 1974 | San Francisco | Winterland Ballroom | |
| September 14, 1974 | |||
| September 15, 1974 | Fresno | Selland Arena | |
| September 17, 1974 | Phoenix | Celebrity Theatre | |
| September 18, 1974 | Las Vegas | International Ice Palace | |
| September 20, 1974 | San Bernardino | Swing Auditorium | |
| September 21, 1974 | Bakersfield | Bakersfield Civic Auditorium | |
| September 23, 1974 | Albuquerque | University Stadium | |
| September 24, 1974 | Las Cruces | Pan American Center | |
| September 26, 1974 | Tulsa | Tulsa Assembly Center | |
| September 27, 1974 | Oklahoma City | All Sports Stadium | |
| September 28, 1974 | Houston | Sam Houston Coliseum | |
| September 29, 1974 | Shreveport | Hirsch Memorial Coliseum | |
| October 2, 1974 | Atlanta | Omni Coliseum | |
| October 3, 1974 | Tampa | Curtis Hixon Hall | |
| October 4, 1974 | Orlando | Orlando Sports Stadium | |
| October 5, 1974 | Jacksonville | Jacksonville Coliseum | |
| October 6, 1974 | Miami | Miami Jai-Alai Fronton | |
| October 9, 1974 | Passaic | Capitol Theatre | |
| October 10, 1974 | |||
| October 11, 1974 (2 shows) | New York City | Academy of Music | |
| October 12, 1974 (2 shows) | |||
| October 13, 1974 | |||
| October 14, 1974 | Ithaca | Barton Hall | |
| October 15, 1974 | New Haven | New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum | |
| October 17, 1974 | Providence | Providence Civic Center | |
| October 18, 1974 | Rochester | ||
| October 19, 1974 | College Park | William P. Cole, Jr. Student Activities Building | |
| October 20, 1974 | Boston | Music Hall | |
| October 22, 1974 | Erie | Erie County Field House | |
| October 23, 1974 | Charleston | Charleston Civic Center | |
| October 24, 1974 | Pittsburgh | Civic Arena | |
| October 25, 1974 | Chicago | International Amphitheatre | |
| October 26, 1974 | Oshkosh | Kolf Sports Center | |
| October 27, 1974 | Madison | Dane County Coliseum | |
| October 28, 1974 | Milwaukee | MECCA Auditorium | |
| October 29, 1974 | College Park | William P. Cole, Jr. Student Activities Building |