Later in life, Prince discouraged celebrations of his birthday as part of his beliefs as a Jehovah’s Witness. But starting with the year Purple Rain debuted, Prince had some memorable parties to celebrate a rotation around the sun. In honor of the 59th anniversary of Prince’s birth, here’s a look back at the highlights, as…

Michael Bland is the type of guy who could literally talk for hours and never cease to be surprising, enlightening, and downright hilarious. Having been discovered by Prince at an early age and enlisted as one of the founding members of his long-running New Power Generation, and later becoming a revered session player and touring…

This Wednesday, June 7, marks the 59th anniversary of Prince’s birth. While recognizing that Prince himself did not celebrate his birthday in his later years, we know that many people (including his sister, who’s promising a “big surprise”) will be thinking of the late legend on this day, and so Andrea Swensson and I have assembled…

“What do U get when U mix Empire with Kingdom Come?” That’s the riddle being posed by Prince’s sister, Tyka Nelson, who has been using her Instagram, Twitter and Facebook accounts to tease a “big surprise” that will be revealed on Wednesday, June 7. Prince was born on that date 59 years ago, and many…

Today, Minnesota is buzzing about the show U2 have just announced for U.S. Bank Stadium on Sept. 8. As we anticipate the upcoming show, we thought we’d look back on U2’s second local show: at First Avenue on Feb. 21, 1982. They’d previously played the venue in 1981 — when it was still known as…

Celebration 2017, a four-day event at Paisley Park last April, drew plenty of Minneapolitans to Prince’s home. That said, most of the long weekenders hailed not from the Twin Cities or outstate Minnesota, but from far-flung states and even other continents. Such was the case of Belgians Stijn Vandeputte and François Vidal, plus their Italian/Brazilian friend Nicola…

A sold-out Fitzgerald Theater crowd hung on Chastity Brown‘s every note on Friday night as she celebrated the release of her Red House Records debut, Silhouette of Sirens. “I’m so touched to see y’all here,” Brown said during the encore, clearly inspired by the energy of the adoring audience. She was joined on stage by…

When Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, there was only one requirement. Dylan didn’t even have to travel to Stockholm (and in fact he missed the public ceremony, though he later stopped by to collect his prize in a private ceremony). He did, though, have to deliver a Nobel Lecture — even if…

Is Audrey Horne’s son dealing drugs at the Bang Bang Bar? Did Agent Cooper’s second doppelgänger kill a man in small-town South Dakota? Will we ever get the old Agent Cooper back? Is Sheriff Harry Truman dying? I’m going to go ahead and say yes, no, maybe, and probably. Episode five of the new season…

There was a lot of mojo working at the Xcel Energy Center last night. Just some great vibes. Don’t take my word for it, though: that was the pronouncement of Tom Petty himself, walking onstage and welcoming the packed arena with open arms. At Petty’s level — 80 million records sold, 15 years of membership…