Purple Reign (show) explained

Purple Reign is a tribute show featuring the music of Prince. It has been performed mainly at casinos in the Las Vegas area. Jason Tenner produces and stars in the show.

History

The act originated out of The Mothership Connection, a 1970s funk tribute band in which Tenner played in the mid-1990s.[1] Tenner was inspired to begin incorporating Prince's music into the band's act after he dressed as the musician for Halloween in 1996 and received positive feedback on the resemblance. He and other members of The Mothership Connection formed Purple Reign as a band in 1997.[2] It was named after Prince's 1984 hit song, "Purple Rain", and the film of the same name.[3] The group performed regularly at Tom and Jerry's, a bar near the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus.[4] [5]

In 2001, the band was hired to perform nightly in the lounge at the Boardwalk Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip.[6] They soon added impersonators of Prince associates Morris Day and Jerome Benton to the lineup. The band remained at the Boardwalk until the hotel closed in 2006.[7] For the next few years, the band performed weekly gigs at various casinos, including Santa Fe Station, Mandalay Bay, and the Monte Carlo.[8] [9] [10] They made an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman in 2008.

In 2009, Purple Reign made its transition to being a ticketed show, rather than a band playing in open casino lounges; it was signed as a weekend headliner act at the Hooters Casino Hotel.[11] [12] The show moved to The D casino in Downtown Las Vegas in 2012.[13] When the D's showroom closed for renovations eight months later, the show moved back to Hooters and then had a short run at the Planet Hollywood casino, before returning to the D in June 2014.[14] [15] [16] [17]

Tenner moved his show to the Shimmer Cabaret at the Westgate Las Vegas in October 2014.[18] After Prince's death in April 2016, the show gained extra attention, and moved into the hotel's main theater, where a more elaborate stage production was developed.[19] [20] [21] A tribute to Vanity 6, a female vocal group assembled by Prince, was added to the show.[22] Tenner found that the larger venue was too expensive to make the show profitable, however, so he left in October 2017. Purple Reign reopened at the Tropicana Las Vegas the following month.

In March 2024, with the Tropicana preparing to close, the show moved to the V Theater at the Miracle Mile Shops.[23] [24]

Notes and References

  1. News: Nevadan at work: Jason Tenner, musician, Prince impersonator. Las Vegas Review-Journal. Chris Jones. March 23, 2003. NewsBank.
  2. News: Prince, Pink Floyd tributes take to casino stages. The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, WA. Azaria Podplesky. September 6, 2018. 2018-10-05.
  3. News: 'Purple Reign' tribute show comes to Valley. East Valley Tribune. Tempe, AZ. Mandy Zajac. January 7, 2010. 2018-10-06.
  4. News: Vegas tribute acts pay their respects to the real deal. Las Vegas Sun. August 6, 1999. 2018-10-05.
  5. News: Last call at Tom & Jerry's. Las Vegas CityLife. Megan Capehart. February 28, 2002. NewsBank.
  6. News: Cult attraction. Las Vegas CityLife. Katherine Anania. April 7, 2005. NewsBank.
  7. News: Bye bye, Boardwalk. Las Vegas Review-Journal. Howard Stutz. January 10, 2006. NewsBank.
  8. News: 'Superstars' an easy sell for value. Las Vegas Sun. July 16, 2007. 2018-10-06.
  9. News: Santa Fe tribute show develops a following. Summerlin View. Lauren Romano. June 20, 2006. NewsBank.
  10. News: Venues growing for Purple Reign. Las Vegas Review-Journal. John Przybys. December 19, 2008. NewsBank.
  11. News: Compiling fantasy team of tribute artists easy in Vegas. Las Vegas Review-Journal. Mike Weatherford. June 28, 2013. NewsBank.
  12. News: Prince tribute band Purple Reign lands at Hooters. Las Vegas Examiner. August 21, 2009. NewsBank.
  13. News: Garrett shells out big for new club. Las Vegas Review-Journal. Mike Weatherford. March 29, 2012. NewsBank.
  14. News: Dave Perrico to appear on PBS on Jan. 18; new vocal trio raises eyebrows; Elvis-Andy Kaufman meeting revisited. Las Vegas Sun. John Katsilometes. December 22, 2012. 2018-10-05.
  15. News: Job getting better for The Quad juggler Jeff Civillico. Las Vegas Review-Journal. Mike Weatherford. June 11, 2014. 2018-10-05.
  16. News: Prince tribute act coming to Desert Diamond Casino . Arizona Daily Star. Cathalena E. Burch. October 24, 2013. 2018-10-05.
  17. News: Jason Tenner's 17-year tribute-show career as Prince started with Halloween costume. Las Vegas Sun. Robin Leach. August 21, 2014. 2018-10-05.
  18. News: 'Purple Reign' to shake up the scene at Westgate. Las Vegas Sun. John Katsilometes. September 9, 2014. 2018-10-05.
  19. News: Prince's death has shaken up Vegas tribute artist Jason Tenner's world. Las Vegas Weekly. John Katsilometes. May 4, 2016. 2018-10-05.
  20. News: What performing as Prince means to me now that the legend is gone. Las Vegas Review-Journal. Jason Tenner. July 22, 2016. 2018-10-05.
  21. News: Purple Reign's departure has International impact. Las Vegas Review-Journal. John Katsilometes. October 13, 2017. 2018-10-05.
  22. News: 'Purple Reign' makes the move from Westgate to Tropicana. Las Vegas Sun. Brock Radke. November 1, 2017. 2018-10-06.
  23. News: Blake Shelton, ‘Purple Reign,’ Kacey Musgraves and more Las Vegas showbiz news. Las Vegas Sun. Brock Radke. March 6, 2024. 2024-04-03.
  24. News: 'Purple Reign' moves to Planet Hollywood. KVVU-TV. March 21, 2024. 2024-04-03.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Purple Reign (show)".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.