NEW YORK: Stevie Wonder and Christina Aguilera will headline the long-anticipated tribute concert to late pop legend Prince, his estate announced Friday.
The family said the concert — the first and perhaps only public memorial to the music icon — would take place October 13 at the 20,000-capacity XCel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Soul great Wonder will lead the lineup along with “Queen of Funk” Chaka Khan, whose collaboration with Prince revived her career, and Morris Day, Prince’s contemporary from Minneapolis who played his rival in the 1984 film “Purple Rain.”
Younger artists to take part will include pop singer and dancer Aguilera, rock songwriter John Mayer, young breakout sensation Tori Kelly and R&B producer and singer Bilal. Two of the backup bands from Prince’s long career, the New Power Generation and 3rdEyeGirl, will perform all the songs with the guest artists.
“The family is extremely excited to provide an opportunity for the world to participate in the tribute for our brother Prince,” his half-sister Sharon Nelson, said in a statement late Thursday.
Prince, one of the most influential and prolific artists in pop history, died on April 21 at his Paisley Park estate outside Minneapolis-St. Paul from an accidental overdose of powerful painkillers.
Prince was cremated shortly after his death and members of his Jehovah’s Witness held a private service, but there has yet to be an official event. The 57-year-old singer, who was outwardly a model of health, had made no arrangements related to his death and a number of people have come forward to claim to be heirs.
Stevie Wonder to headline Prince tribute concert
Stevie Wonder to headline Prince tribute concert
