Prince playing to the dearly beloved circa 1985. / Associated Press, Liu Heung Shing (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Prince to perform 'live' via video April 21 at Target Center (even though he's dead)
Paisley Park will show live video of the late legend accompanied by a band as part of the second annual Celebration series around the anniversary of his passing.
January 16, 2018 at 2:39PM
Coming just one dimension away from the much-feared Prince Hologram Tour, Paisley Park will show recorded video and audio of Prince accompanied by a live band at Target Center on the second anniversary of his death, April 21.
The unusual show is billed as "Prince: Live on the Big Screen" and will be part of the second annual Celebration, a four-day marathon of all things Prince housed at Paisley Park. Performers and ticket info on the rest of the Celebration have yet to be announced.
Some of the Celebration participants will also perform at this Target Center event, which is promising "a super-group of musicians who performed alongside Prince throughout his legendary career." Tickets for the show go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. via AXS.com and the arena box office for $39-$199, more than what Prince himself charged the last time he played the Minneapolis basketball arena in 2007.
Prince's family and Paisley Park operators already tested the waters for a beyond-the-grave-style performance at the all-star tribute to him at Xcel Energy Center in October 2016. That show ended with a recording of Prince singing "Purple Rain" accompanied by that night's house band, an emotional finish that was generally well-received but only lasted a few minutes.
For the Target Center thingamajig, the band will perform along to video and audio that has never been released, according to the press release for the event.
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