Purple Reign (show)

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.[1] He and other members of The Mothership Connection formed Purple Reign as a band in 1997.[1][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.[1][6] They soon added impersonators of Prince associates Morris Day and Jerome Benton to the lineup.[1][6] 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.[10]

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.[20][22] Tenner found that the larger venue was too expensive to make the show profitable, however, so he left in October 2017.[21] Purple Reign reopened at the Tropicana Las Vegas the following month.[22]

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