The Prince Project at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse -- August 25.
Thursday, August 25, 7:15 p.m.
Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse, 1828 Third Avenue, Rock Island IL
Performing from a repertoire boasting such iconic hits as “Raspberry Beret.” “1999,” “When Doves Cry,” “U Got the Look,” and the title song for the Oscar-winning Purple Rain, frontman DaVaughn Weber and the touring tribute artists of the Prince Project take the stage at Rock Island's Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse, their August 25 concert offering a thrilling “Kiss” in celebration of the legendary rocker.
Born Prince Rogers Nelson and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Prince signed a record deal with Warner Bros. Records at age 19, releasing the albums For You in 1978 and Prince in 1979. He went on to achieve critical success with the innovative albums Dirty Mind (1980), Controversy (1981), and 1999 (1982), and his sixth album Purple Rain, was recorded with his backup band the Revolution, was also the soundtrack to his 1984 acting debut of the movie of the same name. Purple Rain continued critical success for Prince, was a major commercial success that spent six consecutive months atop the Billboard 200, and earned for its artist the Academy Award for Best Original Song Score. After disbanding the Revolution, Prince released 1987's Sign o' the Times, widely hailed by critics as his magnum opus, and in the midst of a 1993 contractual dispute with Warner Bros., he notoriously changed his stage name to the unpronounceable symbol (known to fans as the "Love Symbol") and was consequently referred to as the Artist Formerly Known as Prince (TAFKAP), or simply the Artist.
The Artist signed with Arista Records in 1998 and began referring to himself by Prince again in 2000. He achieved six U.S. top-10 albums over the following decade, and in April of 2016, at age 57, Prince died of an accidental fentanyl overdose at his Paisley Park home and recording studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota. Prince had a prolific output, releasing 39 albums during his life, with a vast array of unreleased projects left in a vault at his home after his death, including completed albums and over 50 music videos. Estimates of the complete number of songs written by Prince range anywhere from 500 to well over 1,000, and released posthumously, his demo albums Piano & a Microphone 1983 from 2018 and 2019's Originals both received critical acclaim.
Prince sold over 120 million albums worldwide, ranking him among the best-selling music artists of all time. His awards included the Grammy President's Merit Award, the American Music Awards for Achievement and of Merit, and the Billboard Icon Award, and he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, the U.K. Music Hall of Fame in 2006, the Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2016, and the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame in 2022.
The Prince Project performs their Rock Island engagement on August 25, admission to the 7:15 p.m. concert is $58.55, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)786-7733 extension 2 and visiting Circa21.com.
