The Revolution Launches Prince Tribute Tour Starting in Paisley Park
By: Julie Musbach Apr. 20, 2017
The Revolution has gathered together to celebrate and pay tribute to their PRINCE. The band will set off on their first coast-to-coast foray in decades in response to the overwhelming reaction of February's surprise announcement of their reunion. The jaunt, which was originally just six dates, including a special performance at Paisley Park, quickly expanded when demand made it necessary to add second shows in Chicago, New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco. The quintet are set to bring their exciting new show to the rest of the U.S. The current itinerary ends on July 17th, with even more dates expected to be announced soon.
The Revolution formed in 1979 when Prince joined drummer, Bobby Z and keyboardist Matt Fink. Over the next four years, several formations would emerge until finally Prince found the band he felt could master the challenging musicality of his vision. The legendary final line-up included Lisa Coleman on keyboards/piano, Wendy Melvoin on guitar and Brown Mark on bass. The Revolution was credited on three Prince studio-albums, Purple Rain, Around the World In a Day and Parade while some members also played on 1999. Together, they earned multiple #1 hits, as well as two Grammy® Awards and an Oscar, with the song "Purple Rain," for Best Original Song Score in 1985.
After being asked to perform at Paisley Park on the first anniversary of Prince's death, the group felt it was time to take The Revolution back on the road. Recently, in Billboard Magazine, Melvoin shared that those First Avenue shows were a catharsis for both themselves and the fans. "The first night it was so sad. There was a lot of beautiful energy and it was high contrast for sure, all fantastic and all horrible swimming at the same time," Melvoin recalls. "By night three we were smiling from beginning to end, and when we walked off stage the five of us went into a back room, and I remember Bobby just broke down and started to cry. We all sort of had this moment where it felt like this was almost too much. But at the same time we made people smile and they felt good and they got to grab onto at least the legacy of him so that his death didn't feel so permanent." It is with that spirit that the Grammy® Award winning group heads out to spread love and funk across America this spring.
"Prince said that music is medicine," Bobby relates, "People need it, and we need it.... In honor of him, we'll give it everything we've got."
THE REVOLUTION Tour Itinerary:
April 21 Celebration 2017 @ Paisley Park Minneapolis, MN
April 23 Metro Chicago, IL
April 24 Metro Chicago, IL
April 27 The Fillmore Silver Spring Washington, DC
April 28 BB Kings New York, NY
April 29 Theatre of Living Arts Philadelphia, PA
April 30 Theatre of Living Arts Philadelphia, PA
May 3 Webster Hall New York, NY
May 4 Capitol Theatre Port Chester, NY
May 12 Barrymore Theatre Madison, WI
May 14 The Vogue Indianapolis, IN
May 15 Mercury Ballroom Louisville, KY
May 16 Bogart's Cincinnati, OH
May 18 House of Blues Cleveland, OH
May 20 Majestic Theater Detroit, MI
May 21 Phoenix Theatre Toronto, Ont
June 14 House of Blues Dallas, TX
June 15 House of Blues Houston, TX
June 16 The Aztec Theater San Antonio, TX
June 17 ACL Live Austin, TX
June 21 Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas, NV
June 22 House of Blues San Diego, CA
June 23 Wiltern Los Angeles, CA
July 11 The Fillmore San Francisco, CA
July 12 The Fillmore San Francisco, CA
July 13 Artown Reno, NV
July 14 Roseland Theater Portland, OR
July 15 The Showbox Seattle, WA
July 17 Britt Pavillion Jacksonville, OR
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