Prince’s sister Tyka Nelson to retire from performing live with show at the Dakota

Ross Raihala, Pioneer Press
·2 min read
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Prince’s younger sister Tyka Nelson is retiring from live performing with a June 7 show, dubbed Tyka Nelson and Friends: A Night of Purple Music, at the Dakota in downtown Minneapolis. The show takes place on what would have been the Purple One’s 66th birthday.

Tickets are $90, $80 and $70 and are on sale now at dakotacooks.com.

While Nelson never worked on music with her brother, the evening will feature a host of people who did. The lineup includes: Donna Grantis, guitarist from Prince’s power trio 3rdEyeGirl; vocalists Marva King and Shelby J (who was onstage with Prince during his legendary Super Bowl halftime show in 2007); saxophonists Adrian Crutchfield and BK Jackson; and St. Paul Peterson, who was a member of the Time and the lead singer of the Family, a Prince offshoot group that released the original version of “Nothing Compares 2 U.”

Peterson’s Minneapolis Funk All-Stars will act as the backing band for the night.

Nelson, 63, began writing songs as a child. But she ran away from home around the time Prince signed his first record deal, in 1977. She lived in Los Angeles for more than a decade before she penned her own deal with Chrysalis Records.

Her 1988 debut album “Royal Blue” earned some warm reviews, but failed to find a larger audience. She went on to release three more records, most recently issuing “Hustler” in 2011.

Prince, meanwhile, enjoyed a relationship with the Dakota as both an audience member and performer. Tower of Power, Roy Hargrove, the Steeles and Victor Wooten are among the many artists he saw live at the venue. An April 2016 Lizz Wright show at the Dakota was the last time he was seen at a public concert.

In 2013, Prince played three shows at the Dakota, including his first public performance with 3rdEyeGirl.

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