St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman will declare it Prince Day on Thursday, when the much-anticipated Prince tribute concert takes place at the Xcel Energy Center.
At the X, 500 staff members are donning custom purple T-shirts, while Coleman is encouraging everyone else to wear purple that day to honor Prince. Several iconic St. Paul buildings will be lit in purple, including the Landmark Center, the St. Paul Hotel, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, James J. Hill Center, George Latimer Central Library, 317 on Rice Park and Herbie’s on the Park.
The venue is hosting a free outdoor pre-concert party starting at 4 p.m. on Kellogg Boulevard between gates 1 and 2. There will be a DJ, area radio stations, and food and beverage options. It’s open to the public, whether or not they have tickets for the show.
The X will also unveil its permanent tribute to Prince at Gate 1 of the arena. It’s a replica Minnesota Wild jersey with Prince’s love symbol that was presented to the artist in 2004, when he headlined the arena three nights in a row. Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7 Club, on the club level, has a special menu planned with some of Prince’s favorite dishes and other selections created by his personal chefs at Paisley Park.
A “very limited number” of tickets to the concert are available through Ticketmaster and in person at the Xcel box office. Members of Prince’s bands the New Power Generation and 3rdEyeGirl will back up stars such as Stevie Wonder, Christina Aguilera, Chaka Khan, John Mayer and Anita Baker. St. Paul R&B band Mint Condition is also on the bill, along with Prince associates Morris Day and the Time, Judith Hill and Liv Warfield.
Correction: The Cathedral of St. Paul was removed from this story as a location to be lit purple. Leaders at the Cathedral have not yet decided whether it will participate.
