Traxx announces Prince tribute tour, Umbrella Rain

  • Share
  • The Nation boss will spin music by Prince in Minneapolis, New York and Chicago this weekend.
  • Traxx announces Prince tribute tour, Umbrella Rain image
  • Traxx has announced the Umbrella Rain tour, a series of four gigs dedicated to the musical legacy of Prince Rogers Nelson. The Umbrella Rain name refers both to Prince's famous Purple Rain as well as the wealth of material he wrote and produced for other artists. Traxx will be playing "unreleased material, rehearsal songs, outtakes, B-sides, 45s, 12-inches and unofficial fan club records" from Prince's voluminous discography, he says. The gigs coincide with the two-year anniversary of the legendary musician's death and begin in Prince's hometown of Minneapolis. Traxx, real name Melvin Oliphant III, will begin the string of gigs at Kitty Cat Klub this Thursday at a tape-focused night, Cassette, before a Friday night gig at Nomad World Club alongside Naughty Wood. Saturday, he'll play his second Prince tribute set at the Confused House monthly at Bossa Nova Civic Club. This time, he'll play Prince's music for a full nine hours, beginning at 7 PM. Oliphant will wrap things up in his hometown, Chicago, at Danny's Tavern, for his new Prince quarterly, Paisley Park, where he'll DJ with Jordan Zawideh. (Traxx and Zawideh are billing themselves as Majesty & Divinity for this event.) A 25-track Mutant Beat Dance album will be released on Rush Hour this spring. Last year, Traxx played a seven-hour Prince tribute set at Confused House. Listen to a three-and-a-half hour segment from the night.


RA