''Purple Reign'' is a tribute show featuring the music of

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

. It has been performed mainly at casinos in the

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors 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. 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. It was named after Prince's 1984 hit song, " Purple Rain", and the film of the same name. The group performed regularly at Tom and Jerry's, a bar near the

University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the S ...

campus. In 2001, the band was hired to perform nightly in the lounge at the

Boardwalk Hotel and Casino The Boardwalk Hotel and Casino was a Coney Island-style hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. It was owned and operated by MGM Mirage. It was part of the Holiday Inn hotel chain until it was acquired by MGM in 2000. It was built before the era of the ...

on the

Las Vegas Strip The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas Boulevard South in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of ...

. They soon added impersonators of Prince associates

Morris Day Morris E. Day (born December 13, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer of The Time. Music career Morris Day is best known as the lead singer of The Time, a group associated with Prince. Day and Pri ...

and

Jerome Benton Jerome Benton (born September 19, 1962) is an American musical performer, backup dancer and comedic actor. He can be seen in music videos by Janet Jackson and Prince (musician), Prince, but he is known for his association with Morris Day and The ...

to the lineup. The band remained at the Boardwalk until the hotel closed in 2006. For the next few years, the band performed weekly gigs at various casinos, including

Santa Fe Station Santa Fe Station is a hotel and casino located on North Rancho Drive in Las Vegas, Nevada. The casino is owned by Station Casinos and is located on of land. The hotel-casino originally opened as the Santa Fe in 1991, and for several years inclu ...

Mandalay Bay Mandalay Bay is a 43-story luxury resort and casino at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned by Vici Properties and The Blackstone Group and operated by MGM Resorts International. It was developed by Circus Circus ...

, and the

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...

. They made an appearance on the ''

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...

'' 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 Oyo Hotel & Casino (stylized as OYO Hotel & Casino) is a casino hotel near the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. It is owned by Highgate and Oyo Hotels & Homes, and its casino is operated by Paragon Gaming. It is located next ...

. The show moved to

The D The D may refer to: * A nickname for the city of Detroit * Tenacious D, an American rock band composed of Jack Black and Kyle Gass * The D Las Vegas, a hotel and casino in Nevada * A slang term for dick See also * D (disambiguation) D is the f ...

casino in

Downtown Las Vegas Downtown Las Vegas (commonly abbreviated as DTLV) is the central business district and historic center of Las Vegas, Nevada. It is the original townsite, and the Downtown gaming area was the primary gambling district of Las Vegas prior to the St ...

in 2012. 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 Planet Hollywood International Inc. (stylized as planet Hollywood, planet Hollywood observatory and ph) is a themed restaurant chain inspired by the popular portrayal of Hollywood. The company is owned by Earl Enterprises corporation. Earl En ...

casino, before returning to the D in June 2014. Tenner moved his show to the Shimmer Cabaret at the

Westgate Las Vegas The Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino is a hotel, casino, and timeshare resort in Winchester, Nevada. Located near the northern end of the Las Vegas Strip, it is owned by Westgate Resorts. It opened in 1969 as the International Hotel, and wa ...

in October 2014. 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. A tribute to

Vanity 6 Vanity 6 was a short lived American female vocal trio that gained popularity in the early 1980s. They were protégés of musician Prince (musician), Prince. Led by singer Vanity (singer), Vanity, they are known for their song "Nasty Girl (Vanity ...

, a female vocal group assembled by Prince, was added to the show. 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 Tropicana Las Vegas is a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Bally's Corporation, on land leased from Gaming and Leisure Properties. It offers 1,467 rooms, a gaming floor, and of convention ...

the following month.

References

External links

* {{italic title Tribute bands Production shows in the Las Vegas Valley Musical groups from the Las Vegas Valley Musical groups established in 1997 1997 establishments in Nevada Prince (musician) Las Vegas shows