Prince’s band the Revolution to play First Avenue for the first time in seven years
The Revolution, the band that helped Prince attain worldwide success in the ’80s, will return to First Avenue June 21 and 22 for their first shows at the Minneapolis nightclub since 2017.
Tickets for the June 22 concert are $99 — with a $199 VIP option adding early entry, a limited edition signed poster and an exclusive commemorative merch item — and go on sale at 11 a.m. Friday through Axs. There is a four ticket limit for general admission and two ticket limit for VIP and all tickets are non-transferable. Ticketholders must download the Axs app to use the tickets and the entire party must enter the venue together.
Tickets for the June 21 concert are part of admission to the annual Celebration event at Paisley Park, which runs June 20 through 24. It includes a series of panels, tours, a screening of “Purple Rain” and performances from Morris Day, New Power Generation and others. Tickets are $600 (general admission) and $1,200 (VIP) and are available via paisleypark.com.
More than a dozen different musicians backed Prince in his early days, and he started calling them the Revolution after printing the name backward on the cover of his fifth album, “1999.”
The Revolution’s lineup playing First Avenue features the musicians who performed with Prince on the 1984 “Purple Rain” soundtrack and film: Wendy Melvoin (guitar, vocals), Lisa Coleman (keyboard, vocals), Mark “Brownmark” Brown (bass), Robert “Bobby Z.” Rivkin (drums) and Matt “Dr. Fink” Fink (keyboards).
Prince and the Revolution collaborated on two more albums, “Around the World in a Day” and “Parade.” But tensions between Prince and the band led the Revolution to break up after the 1986 tour ended. They reunited, without Prince, for a 2003 concert organized by Sheila E. and a 2012 benefit gig at First Avenue.
After Prince died in April 2016, the band got back together again that September and played three nights at First Avenue. They spent the next three years touring both North America and Europe and also played Rock the Garden and the Basilica Block Party.
The Revolution’s most recent performance was at the Grammy Awards tribute to Prince in 2020.
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