The US city throwing an epic party for Prince (2024)

To commemorate the 40th anniversary of Purple Rain, Prince's hometown is rolling out the purple carpet for fans in a four-day festival.

Forty years ago this summer, a short man dressed in purple changed music forever. On 27 July 1984, Warner Brothers released a film written by, starring and soundtracked by a certain Prince Rogers Nelson. The film had no known stars, no real actors and was shot on a relative shoestring.

Yet when Purple Rain hit theatres, it quickly became the number one film in the US, knocking Ghostbusters off the top slot. After Purple Rain's soundtrack and the single When Doves Cry also hit number one, Prince became the first artist in US history to have a number-one film, a number-one album and a number-one song at the same time.

It may have seemed like the androgynous 26-year-old artist came out of nowhere, but he didn't: Prince came out of Minneapolis, as did his childhood friends and fellow musicians Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. They were all part of the Minneapolis scene, which produced what is now known as the Minneapolis Sound.

Prince lived in Minnesota most of his life. "Everyone of a certain age in the Twin Cities [Minneapolis and nearby Saint Paul] has a Prince story," says Elliot Powell, associate professor of American studies at the University of Minnesota, who teaches a class called Prince, p*rn and Public Space: The Cultural Politics of Minneapolis in the 1980s. "They'll say, 'Let me tell you about the time I saw Prince hanging out here', or, 'I was at this restaurant when Prince was there'. Having so many Prince sightings and stories really makes it feel like Prince is a part of Minnesota culture and history."

When Prince died in 2016, 10,000 people filled the streets of Minneapolis to mourn. But in honour of Purple Rain's 40th anniversary, the city is ready to celebrate – and it's rolling out the purple carpet to visitors.

On 21-22 June, Prince's legendary band, The Revolution, will reunite for two shows at Minneapolis' iconic First Avenue venue as part of Celebration 2024: an annual extravaganza (20-24 June this year) featuring Prince-themed events at the artist's Paisley Park estate and throughout Minneapolis. To commemorate the anniversary, the event will be bigger than ever this year, with panel discussions, downtown block parties, Purple Rain showings, boat cruises and more. (Tickets available here.)

Elsewhere, the Minnesota History Center is currently displaying Prince's coat from Purple Rain, and there's a new app called Sound Around Tours to help you locate Prince sites throughout the Twin Cities. Next spring, a musical adaptation of Purple Rain will debut in Minneapolis before moving on to Broadway.

Here are a few places to go in Minneapolis if you want to relive Prince's legacy this summer and beyond.

Downtown Minneapolis

There are ghosts of Prince everywhere in Minneapolis, but nowhere are the echoes of his four-inch heels louder than in downtown.

First Avenue

The epicentre of Princedom is the legendary music venue First Avenue, which journalist Alan Light, whose book about the making of Purple Rain, Let's Go Crazy, argues was basically a character in the film Purple Rain, given how much it features on screen. It was built as a Greyhound bus station in 1937 and became a dance club in 1970. For years, it was the only place downtown where Black musicians could play. Prince's first show here was in 1981 and his last was on 7 July 2007. Be sure to check out the gold-painted star dedicated to Prince on the outside wall, and if it's open, take a behind-the-scenes tour or check out a show.

Hiero Veiga Mural

In 2022, acclaimed street artist Hiero Veiga was chosen to paint this 100ft mural commemorating Prince at the corner of First Avenue S and North Eight Street. It shows three iterations of the musician: one in his pre-fame days, one at his Purple Rain peak and one after he became the-artist-once-again-known-as-Prince. The street between the Veiga mural and First Avenue has officially been renamed Prince Rogers Nelson Way.

The Schmitt Music Wall

Just off Nicollet Avenue, at 94 S 10th Street, is the Music Wall, where Prince had his first photo shoot in 1977 that helped him get a massive record deal for his first album. In 2018, Lizzo (another musician with Minneapolis roots) filmed the video for her song Boys here, in homage to Prince.

The Dakota

Two days before he died, Prince walked into The Dakota, a club where he often came to hear music (and occasionally to perform), and sat at the table that was always reserved for him. "Prince was someone who would go to places like the Dakota to hear local bands," says Powell. "So when you go to these Prince landmarks, make sure to check out the local music venues, because that was something Prince did."

Bunker's Music Bar & Grill

Bunker's is an old-school bar where Prince and other key players in the Minneapolis Sound were (and many still are) regulars. "I always like to tell people to go down to Bunker's," says Andrea Swensson, a local music historian and author of the new book, Prince and Purple Rain: 40 Years. "I feel like that's such a Prince thing – and not just Prince, but his community and his scene. He would jump up on stage there all the time. He plucked several people out of the house band, Dr Mambo's Combo, for his bands over the years. And there's still a little booth in the back with Christmas lights around it. That's where he always used to sit when he would stop by. So, if people want to go see live music in a Prince way, that's a must."

North Minneapolis

Most of the musicians who would go on to create the Minneapolis Sound came from North Minneapolis. It was originally a predominantly Jewish neighbourhood, but many Black families landed there after fleeing the Jim Crow South in the Great Migration. From the 1950s on, it became an epicentre of musical talent.

1244 Russell Avenue North

Some of the homes where Prince lived have been destroyed, but the most significant that's still standing is this unassuming brick house on Russell Avenue where Prince's friend and future bass playerAndréCymone lived. When Prince ran away from home as a 14 year old, Cymone's mother let the budding musician live here as long as he stayed in school. He ended up living here from 1972-1977, and Prince, Cymone and their band, Grand Central, jammed in the basem*nt. The house remains private, so visitors should maintain a respectful distance.

The Capri Theater

Built in 1927, The Capri Theater made history in 1979 with two Prince shows that marked the beginning of his fame. "The Capri Theater was his first show as Prince the solo artist," says Swensson, "He'd played probably 100 shows with his high school band, but that was the first time he came to the stage as Prince, and the Warner Brothers executives were there, so that was a big moment."

South Minneapolis

Prince mainly grew up in North Minneapolis, he also spent a lot of time in South Minneapolis, where he went to school, recorded his first demos and albums and occasionally lived.

The Electric Fetus

On your way out of downtown, be sure to stop by the Electric Fetus, Prince's favourite record store. It opened in 1968 and has been a mainstay ever since. Five days before Prince died, on "Record Store Day", he came in and bought six CDs by Joni Mitchell, Stevie Wonder, Santana and others.

Orfield Laboratories

The Purple Rain House

If you've seen Purple Rain, you know "The Kid" lives in a dilapidated house by the railroad tracks. That house, at 3420 Snelling Avenue S, used for the exterior shots, was actually bought by Prince the year before he died. Since then, it's mostly sat empty. But beginning in August 2024, it will be relaunched as a Prince-themed Airbnb, with The Revolution members Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman serving as hosts. If you can't get a booking, you can also try the PrinceLuv Studio, a homestay filled with Prince-inspired books and art. It's run by Michele Streitz, who worked for Prince in the late 1980s, and who manages The Prince Museum, an appointment-only personal collection of Prince memorabilia and art. "All of us [Minneapolis artists] worked for Prince or did projects for him," she said.

Rudolph's & Sebastian Joe's

At 1933 Lyndale Avenue is Rudolph's Bar-B-Que. The restaurant closed in 2018, but the building is still standing and it was Prince's favourite eatery, according to journalist Neal Karlen, author of This Thing Called Life: Prince's Odyssey, On and Off the Record. Karlen first profiled Prince in Rolling Stone in 1985, and the two met several times at Rudolph's. After dinner they would walk up the street to Sebastian Joe's. "He loved Sebastian Joe's," says Karlen. "He said it was his favourite place to get ice cream." His favourite flavour? Mint chocolate chip.

Elsewhere in Minnesota

Paisley Park

No visit to the land of Prince would be complete without a stop at Paisley Park, the massive home-cum-studio/compound that Prince built in the cornfields of Chanhassen in 1987. It's not exactly an architectural gem, and the tours are expensive, but it's worth it. Depending how much you want to pay, you can see Prince's studio, office and sound stage. Paisley Park is also the epicentre of Celebration 2024, which, in addition to the two performances by The Revolution, also features concerts this year from New Power Generation (Prince's backing band from 1990-2013), Prince's close friend and musical collaborator Morris Day and former bandmate Liv Warfield.

The Prince Store

In the 1990s, Prince opened a short-lived music and memorabilia store in Uptown, a part of Minneapolis he loved andsang about. Nowadays, the closest thing is The Prince Store in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Airport, which opened in 2019 for an experimental two-year run. It launched without any fanfare, but there were so many fans lined up that they opened 45 minutes early. It's the perfect stop on your way into, or out of, the city that made Prince and that will remember him forever.

--

If you liked this story,sign up for The Essential List newsletter– a handpicked selection of features, videos and can't-miss news, delivered to your inbox twice a week.

For more Travel stories from the BBC, follow us onFacebook,XandInstagram.