Prince announces solo European tour at Paisley Park pajama party

The Current’s exclusive broadcast of “CRAZY 2 COOL,” a live medley recorded by Prince and 3RDEYEGIRL last year in France, turned out to be just the kickoff to a weekend-long Chanhassen party that included a James Bond movie screening and the announcement of a solo European tour.

On Friday and Saturday nights, Prince opened the doors of Paisley Park to host “pajama parties” that started with a listening party for “CRAZY 2 COOL” and became live performances, culminating in a Saturday night screening of the new James Bond movie Spectre at the Chanhassen Cinema—which Prince had rented out for the occasion.

Later, news broke that Prince had summoned a group of European journalists to announce a solo tour—featuring only Prince, alone at a piano—that’s tentatively scheduled to begin Nov. 21 in Vienna. The tour news was first published in Spain’s El Pais, which reported that before Saturday night’s performance, Prince talked to a small group of European journalists and shared the news that he’ll be visiting 16 European cities on a solo tour unlike any he’s ever done.

A tour itinerary was handed to the journalists, but Prince’s team later clarified that the dates are not confirmed. Working with a Scandinavian promoter (hence the high density of shows in that region), Prince tentatively plans to play shows in the U.K. (Glasgow, Birmingham, London, and Liverpool), Holland, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Austria, France, Belgium, Spain, Norway, Denmark, and Sweden (where Prince will reportedly play four shows). El Pais reports that a Barcelona show is penciled in for Dec. 13, at the Liceo Theater.

• AUSTRIA - Vienna, Konzerthaus - 21 Novembre
• NETHERLANDS - Amsterdam, Koninklijk Theater Carré - 5 Décembre (2 Shows)
• FRANCE - Paris, Opéra Garnier - 11 Décembre (2 Shows)
• SPAIN - Barcelona, Gran Teatre del Liceu - 13 Décembre
• BELGIUM - Brussels, Cirque Royal - 22 Décembre
• UK - Glasgow - Date TBC
• UK - Liverpool - Date TBC
• UK - Birmingham - Date TBC
• UK - London, Theatre Royal, Drury Lane - Date TBC
• DENMARK - 2 Shows, Venues TBC - Date TBC
• SWEDEN - Venue TBC - Date TBC
• NORWAY - Venue TBC - Date TBC
• SWITZERLAND - Venue TBC - Date TBC
• ITALY - Venue TBC - Date TBC
• GERMANY - Venue TBC - Date TBC

Prince told the journalists that he has “various reasons” for undertaking the tour, among them challenging himself. He added that “with the piano, it’s more stripped down, more pure. You can see exactly what you get.” (Translation, from the Spanish, by Luke Taylor.) On Monday morning, Prince tweeted a link to a French blog post about the tour with a corrected version of another quote: “I rarely get bad reviews because this is something that’s been perfected 4 over thirty years.”

According to the French report, Prince played a solo set that included “Starfish & Coffee,” “Something in the Water (Does Not Compute),” “Raspberry Beret,” and “With You” before bringing his electric band onstage to jam. Recently, Prince has been playing with musicians including 3RDEYEGIRL guitarist Donna Grantis, drummer Kirk Johnson, and bassist Dywane Thomas Jr. (a.k.a. MonoNeon). Here’s a video, shared by Prince, recorded at Paisley Park on Saturday night.

The Current’s Andrea Swensson was at Paisley Park on Saturday, and reports that Prince himself was at the theater to enjoy the film with his guests. She also says that Prince told the audience that the previous night (Friday), after everybody left, he just kept playing for himself for three hours.

“I was in the zone,” Andrea remembers Prince saying. “And you know what put me in the zone? Us.”

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Presse 1 (Italie)

Presse 2 - 3 (Autriche)

Presse 4 (Pays Bas)

Presse 5 (France)
Presse 6 (Angleterre)