'Purple Reign' Brings Prince’s Legacy To Life In Las Vegas!

Never got the chance to see Prince live in concert? Or maybe you’re a superfan who craves some live Prince music? If you’re in Las Vegas, you’re in luck!

“Purple Reign,” an acclaimed tribute to Prince featuring Jason Tenner, is an award-winning show that brings the energy and style of Prince that many knew and loved. 

The show is held at the V Theater inside the Miracle Mile Shops located on the world-famous Las Vegas Strip and features iconic moments from Prince’s long career, signature hits, and a tribute to Morris Day and The Time. 

Bring on the nostalgia in a high-energy way during “Purple Reign” in the V Theater in Miracle Mile Shops. 

Earning numerous accolades and gaining national attention with an appearance on “The Late Show with David Letterman,” true Prince fans will almost forget it’s a tribute show.

Performer Jason Tenner, who recreates Prince’s appearance, sound, and style, really brings it in a high-energy way. During each show, Tenner performs some of Prince’s biggest hits. But with so many hits, it’s impossible to squeeze them all into a show. 

“We play all the hits - ‘Let’s Go Crazy,’ “Kiss,’ “Raspberry Beret,’ ‘Little Red Corvette,’ ‘1999,’ ‘When Doves Cry,’ ‘Darling Nikki,’ and we switch out some of the songs in the center, like, ‘Wanna Be Your Lover,’ ‘Controversy,’ and of course, we play ‘Purple Rain,’” Tenner exclusively told The Blast. 

“Then sometimes it’s more urban hits, like ‘If I Was Your Girlfriend.’ In total, our catalog of Prince songs probably is somewhere around 30. But we only have about an hour and 15 minutes so we condense it to the hits.” 

Tenner didn't exactly set out to impersonate Prince, but it lined up perfectly for him. He had an original group back in high school and they played a gig opening for a band at a local college club in Vegas. His group eventually transitioned from original music to cover songs.

"The following October, I went out dressed up as Prince for Halloween. And people were like, hey let's do this, you really look like Prince," Tenner told The Blast exclusively. "We started doing it in 1997. That's when 'Purple Reign' began."

Tenner said he really didn't know much about Prince when he dressed up as him for Halloween, but that has certainly changed.

Transforming into Prince and performing his well-known music really took off for Tenner. It's been about 27 years now and he's still going strong.

"We played in the Station Casino, downtown at The D, I think we spent a couple of week's at Jerry's Nugget years ago. We were at the Westgate in the International Theater and before that, in their showroom," he said.

"My original bassist came back to me back during the Westgate time, which was around maybe 2014-15. My guitarist and keyboard player have been with me for a little over 15 years. And I've had various guys come in and out of those positions over the years."

Tenner said he keeps the show "very authentic to Prince," with the costumes, the look, and the vibe.

"We have 100-percent live music, so there are no pre-recorded tracks or anything like that. We have dancers, and a tribute to Morris Day and The Time, so we kind of play up on the 'Purple Rain' movie a bit and the conflict that they had in the movie," Tenner said. "There are jokes and banter back and forth."

If you've seen the show before, you may just get a little bit of a different show the next time around.

"Some of the elements have changed, a lot of them are still similar. We play a lot of the same songs, we have to play the hits, but we've changed the arrangements of the songs and the way that we present them. We try to do that to keep it fresh for ourselves," he explained. "But you're going to hear those hit songs. We can't get away with not playing them."