Welcome 2 was a

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...

by American recording artist

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

. Playing over 80 shows, the tour reached North America, Europe, and Australia. Each leg of the tour was branded with the "Welcome 2" title followed by the continent in which the leg was located. The tour marked the singer's first performances in North America in over six years. The show was composed of the singer performing his hits with his band

The New Power Generation The New Power Generation, also known as The NPG, was the backing band of musician Prince from 1990 to 2013. They were replaced by 3rdeyegirl as his backing band in 2013. In 2015, the New Power Generation reunited as Prince's backing band for ...

. Alongside Prince, various musicians performed including

Janelle Monáe Janelle Monáe Robinson (; born December 1, 1985) is an American singer, rapper and actress. She is signed to Atlantic Records, as well as to her own imprint, the Wondaland Arts Society. Monáe has received eight Grammy Award nominations. Mon� ...

Esperanza Spalding Esperanza Emily Spalding (born October 18, 1984) is an American bassist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Her accolades include five Grammy Awards, a Boston Music Award, and a Soul Train Music Award. A native of Portland, Oregon, Spalding ...

, and

Cassandra Wilson Cassandra Wilson (born December 4, 1955) is an American jazz singer, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi. She is one of the most successful female Jazz singers and has been described by critic Gary Giddins as "a singer blessed wi ...

. The tour placed 39th on Pollstar's "Top 50 Worldwide Tour", earning nearly $20 million.

Background

Prince announced the tour on October 14, 2010 at the famed Apollo Theater in New York City. He stated the tour would begin in Greater New York. He further explained to the audience each show would be different. "Come early, come often. I have a lot of hits... no two shows will be the same". For the tour, Prince played a custom gold

Fender Stratocaster The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of electric guitar designed from 1952 into 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has continuousl ...

(made by the

Fender Custom Shop The Fender Custom Shop is a division of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, housed within their headquarters complex in Corona, Riverside County, California. The Fender Custom Shop produces special-order guitars for customers through a Custom ...

), which was auctioned off at the end of the tour. The proceed benefited the Harlem Children's Zone. The concerts were staged

in the round A theatre in the round, arena theatre or central staging is a space for theatre in which the audience surrounds the stage. Theatre-in-the-round was common in ancient theatre, particularly that of Greece and Rome, but was not widely explored ag ...

, with the stage shaped like the singer's iconic love symbol. During shows, Prince invited several celebrities to come onstage and "jam out" with him, including

Naomi Campbell Naomi Elaine Campbell (born 22 May 1970) is an English model, actress, singer, and businesswoman. She began her career at the age of 15, and established herself amongst the most recognisable and in-demand models of the past four decades. Cam ...

Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ' ...

Jamie Foxx Eric Marlon Bishop (born December 13, 1967), known professionally as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He became widely known for his portrayal of Ray Charles in the 2004 biographical film ''Ray'', for which he won the A ...

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

, Leighton Meester, Questlove, Sherri Shepherd,

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed " The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston i ...

, and

Cornel West Cornel Ronald West (born June 2, 1953) is an American philosopher, political activist, social critic, actor, and public intellectual. The grandson of a Baptist minister, West focuses on the role of race, gender, and class in American society an ...

. He also performed duets with specials guests throughout the shows in North America. For " The Beautiful Ones", Prince was joined onstage by ballet dancer

Misty Copeland Misty Danielle Copeland (born September 10, 1982) is an American ballet dancer for American Ballet Theatre (ABT), one of the three leading classical ballet companies in the United States. On June 30, 2015, Copeland became the first African Amer ...

. During the concert at Madison Square Garden on December 29, 2010, Janelle Monáe performed "

If I Was Your Girlfriend "If I Was Your Girlfriend" is the second single from American musician Prince's 1987 double album ''Sign o' the Times''. The song was a hit in the United Kingdom but was only a minor hit in America. It was originally from the '' Camille'' project ...

" with the singer. During the same show,

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...

and Egypt Sherrod performed " Jungle Love". Following his shows in Greater New York, Prince expanded the tour to include the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

and

The Carolinas The Carolinas are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina, considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia to the southwest. The Atlantic Ocean is to the east. Combining Nor ...

. In April, he announced he would perform a twenty-one night residency show at The Forum in Inglewood, California, during an appearance on ''

Lopez Tonight ''Lopez Tonight'' is an American late-night television talk show that was hosted by the comedian George Lopez. The hour-long program premiered on November 9, 2009, on cable network TBS. Lopez was the first Mexican-American to host a late-nig ...

''. Dubbed "Welcome 2 America: 21-Night Stands", the singer performed throughout the months of April and May, including stops in

Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

, San Jose, and

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

. As the tour continued, Prince performed at several music festivals in Europe. In the fall of 2011, he announced he would bring his tour to Canada, his first performances in the territory in nearly ten years. In 2012, a tour of Australia received a warm response from spectators.

Opening acts

Lalah Hathaway Eulaulah Donyll "Lalah" Hathaway (born December 16, 1968) is an American singer. In 1990 Hathaway released her first album titled ''Lalah Hathaway''. After releasing another album, titled '' A Moment'' (1994), it debuted at number 34 on the To ...

(East Rutherford—December 15, Greenville, North Charleston) *

(East Rutherford—December 15) *

Maceo Parker Maceo Parker (; born February 14, 1943) is an American funk and soul jazz saxophonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s, Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s and Prince in the 2000s. Parker was a prominent soloist on many o ...

(East Rutherford—December 17) *

Graham Central Station Graham Central Station was an American funk music, funk band named after founder Larry Graham (formerly of Sly and the Family Stone). The name is a pun on New York City's Grand Central Terminal, often colloquially called Grand Central Station. ...

(New York City—December 18, Oakland, Fresno, San Jose, Sacramento) * Sinbad (New York City—December 18) *

(New York City—December 29) * Mint Condition (New York City—December 29, Columbia) *

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings were an American funk and soul band signed to Daptone Records. They were part of a revival movement of mid-1960s to mid-1970s style funk and soul music. They released their debut album ''Dap Dippin in 2002, the firs ...

(New York City—January 18) * Cee Lo Green (New York City—February 2) * Sheila E. (Oakland, Fresno, San Jose, Sacramento) * Anthony Hamilton (Charlotte) * Chaka Khan (Raleigh, Greensboro)

Setlist

Tour dates

;Festivals and other miscellaneous performances ;Cancellations and rescheduled shows

Box office score data

Notes

:1.The annual Pollstar ranking of the concert industry's top performing artists is tabulated for all worldwide shows, worked between January 1 and June 30, 2011. All ticket sales figures are calculated in U.S. dollars and are based on reported information and extensive research by Pollstar.

References

{{Prince Prince (musician) concert tours 2010 concert tours 2011 concert tours 2012 concert tours