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Purple Rain pulled off a number of amazing feats that, probably, would have been impossible today. It managed to be a pop album that exuded true vulnerability. It was a movie tie-in, and both the album and the movie were hailed by their respective critics. And while most artists would have been crushed by the weight of fame and expectation, Prince delivered his magnum opus at a time when the dangers of celebrity were at their highest.
As such, Purple Rain will always remain. And this fall Twin Shadow will be bringing it back on stage for one night. The swarthy, pop maestro (who's real name is George Lewis Jr.) will perform the album in its entirety at The Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever, where, as you may already know, is famed for their summer movie screenings. The show will take place on the night of September 23, a Friday. Tickets, which are $30, will go on sale on August 5 at noon.
As Lewis told Fuse in April, Prince was more than just a pop star to him:
I had a hard time growing up defining what race I was. My whole life was like, the black kids asking me if I was white or black, and the white kids being like, "You're definitely not white." That was my whole growing up, and I always felt like I belonged to everything, or that I belonged to nothing.
...
His talent for riding every single line without you thinking about it too much—there's really no one who did it better than that. Prince from the get-go was just this guy riding these lines of black-white, gay-straight, woman-man. Everything he touched was that line. No one has balance enough to handle that like he did.
It's clear that this concert is more than just a fun idea for Lewis. It's also about spreading The Symboled-One's message of acceptance to a broader audience.
Anyway, as if you need any more incentive to go to the show, here are videos of Twin Shadow and Prince:
