Prince Fans Pack Nicollet Mall For Tribute Concert
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Monday night Nicollet Mall resembled a concert inside First Avenue as thousands of Prince fans flocked to the Super Bowl LIVE stage.
It was Prince Night and fans were treated to some of the music he made famous.
Monday night's Prince tribute featured Morris Day and the Time performing hits that Prince helped produce. Sheila E. also performed along with the band, The Revolution.
There is no way you can celebrate what makes Minnesota great and not have music by Prince. His incredible talent and international celebrity helped put Minnesota on the map.
And Monday night artists he worked with closely and thousands of fans who adored Prince partied on Nicollet Mall.
Celebrating the legacy and love of Prince is nothing new to Sheila E.
But never like this, surrounded by electrified fans, standing in single digit temperatures.
"We are not going to freeze, we are going to dance all night. There is no freezing when there is Prince music," Laurie Snyder said.
Fans took their spots around the outdoor stage hours before the live concert started, and a DJ played some of Prince's hits.
"Great artist, great singer, great composer, great writer," Michael Ferraro said.
"He's my favorite, he's the best. He was the best," Denise Ferraro said.
They shared what they loved about the musical genius whose distinctive style and talent mesmerized fans for more than three decades.
"He brings lots of people together, I think that his music just surpasses all barriers," Eldaa Delgado said.
"I love Prince because he's funky and has his own style," Reneka Evans said.
"Very unique, very unique. No one can duplicate him," Gia Howell said.
And leave it to Morris Day and The Time, who worked closely with Prince to create hits in 1980s, to make sure fans had a ball.
The final group to take the stage Monday night was Prince's band, The Revolution.
Music producers and Minneapolis natives Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis organized Monday night's concert and helped select the performers during the entire span of this free 10 day festival.
