Prince has claimed the number one and number two slots atop the Billboard 200, in the wake of his sudden death last Thursday. The Very Best of Prince tops the chart, and Purple Rain is in the number two spot. It’s Prince’s first time atop the chart since 3121 debuted at number one in 2006. Both Prince’s close friend Sheila…

“As history looks back on the contributions he made, he will be remembered in the same legion as Aaron Copland and many, many of the great composers who broke new genre and new ground,” Sen. Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis) said this morning as the Minnesota Senate honored Prince. “We’re proud of course that sound that he…

Sheila E., the musician who was a longtime friend and collaborator of Prince, says that there are plans to open Paisley Park as a museum, and that she’s the musical director of a tribute concert being planned for Minneapolis. Speaking Sunday with Entertainment Tonight, Sheila E. described the private memorial service held for Prince on Saturday at…

In the wake of the death of Prince on Thursday at age 57, the world mourned the beloved star with a vast array of tributes. Landmarks were lit purple and dance parties were held at cities everywhere, including a block party thrown by Spike Lee on Thursday night in Brooklyn. President Barack Obama, having eulogized Prince on the day…

Three days have passed since the world lost Prince. His death’s immediacy has faded, mostly; the Twin Cities are now traveling through that strange tunnel between sharp pain and acceptance. We’ve worn purple, held dance parties, and listened to a Prince music marathon to help the process. This week, local businesses are joining in, using their…

A crowd gathered at Minneapolis City Hall at 1:00 p.m. this afternoon to hear Prince songs played on the building’s bell tower. From 1:00 to 1:30, bell player Tony Hill performed songs including “Kiss,” “1999,” “Nothing Compares 2 U” and “When You Were Mine” in tribute to the late music legend. The bell tower has only…

Though they are fast approaching the release of their debut EP, Pale Spectre should not be considered rookies. The band’s lead vocalist/guitarist, Aaron Hammerly, has long been a fan in the Minneapolis scene, with his dad taking him to shows at First Avenue before his 18th birthday, but only in the past year or so…

On Saturday night, I stepped back for a couple of hours from what had been an emotional whirlwind of unforgettable experiences, days that were hard but rewarding. I’d been working with my colleagues at The Current to help tell the story of Prince’s death and what it meant to everyone here in Minnesota. Last night, I…

Who is Prince? It’s a question that’s been on our minds for four decades now. Because for as long as the man born Prince Rogers Nelson has been making music, the world has been attempting to decode his motivations and cut through his mystique. But much like the murky waters of Lake Minnetonka in Purple…

A new Prince mural on the side of a building in Uptown was painted this weekend as “a nice present to the city of Minneapolis,” says Bloomington-based artist Rock “Cyfi” Martinez. “I just thought about the different songs, the color palette, keeping it purple — obviously — and then the doves,” says Martinez, who first conceived the…