“The Purple Madness: The Ultimate Prince Tribute" at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse -- July 22.
Thursday, July 22, 7:15 p.m.
Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse, 1828 Third Avenue, Rock Island IL
One of the greatest, most genre-defying musicians of all time will enjoy a live tribute at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse on July 22, with the Rock Island venue hosting Bobby Miller and his ensemble in The Purple Madness: The Ultimate Prince Tribute, a high-energy, must-see showcase of hits originally performed the frequent Billboard chart-topper and seven-time Grammy winner.
Prince's music incorporated a wide variety of styles, including funk, R&B, Latin, rock, New Wave, classical, soul, synth-pop, psychedelia, pop, jazz, and hip hop. He pioneered the Minneapolis sound, a funk-rock sub-genre that emerged in the late 1970s and had a prolific output, releasing 39 albums during his life, and with a vast array of unreleased projects left in a vault at his home after his death in 2016. It is believed that the vault contains dozens of fully produced albums and over 50 music videos that have never been released, along with various other media. Prince released hundreds of songs both under his own name and multiple pseudonyms during his life, as well as writing songs that were made famous by other musicians, such as “Nothing Compares 2 U” and “Manic Monday.” Estimates of the complete number of songs written by Prince range anywhere from 500 to well over 1,000.
Born and raised in Minneapolis, Prince signed a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records at the age of 19, and went on to achieve critical success with the innovative albums Dirty Mind (1980), Controversy (1981), and 1999 (1982). His sixth album, 1984's Purple Rain, was recorded with his backup band the Revolution, and was the soundtrack to his film acting debut of the same name. Purple Rain spent six consecutive months atop the Billboard 200 and won Prince the Academy Award for Best Original Song Score. After disbanding the Revolution, Prince went on to achieve continued critical success with 1987's Sign o' the Times, and in the midst of a contractual dispute with Warner Bros. in 1993, he changed his stage name to an unpronounceable symbol and was sometimes referred to as The Artist Formerly Known as Prince or TAFKAP, or simply The Artist. He signed with Arista Records in 1998 and began referring to himself by his own name again in 2000.
After returning to mainstream prominence following a performance at the Grammy Awards ceremony in 2004, he scored six U.S. top-10 albums over the following decade. Prince sold over 150 million records worldwide, ranking him among the best-selling music artists of all time, and beyond his Oscar, the musician's awards included the Grammy President's Merit Award, the American Music Awards for Achievement and Merit, the Billboard Icon Award, and a Golden Globe Award. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, the U.K. Music Hall of Fame in 2006, and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2016.
The Purple Madness: The Ultimate Prince Tribute hit the Circa '1 Dinner Playhouse stage on July 22, with the 7:156 p.m. show preceded by dinner beginning at 6 p.m. Admission is $31.50-36.50, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)786-7733 extension 2 and visiting Circa21.com.
