ST. PAUL AND THE MINNEAPOLIS FUNK ALL STARS

One of the best musicians to emerge from the Twin Cities, St. Paul appeared in Purple Rain as a teenage wunderkind, playing keys with The Time on hits like “Jungle Love” and “The Bird.” He was hand-picked by Prince himself to be lead singer of The Family (best known for “Nothing Compares 2 U”) on Prince’s Paisley Park label. In the tradition of Motown’s Funk Brothers, St. Paul has assembled the who’s who crew of the Minneapolis Sound with St. Paul & The Minneapolis Funk All-stars, showcasing those who wrote, produced, performed, or sung on some of the biggest hits from the heyday of electro funk-rock in the Twin Cities.

Their incredible show: “THE MINNEAPOLIS SOUNDS” is now a National Tour!!

I had the pleasure of catching up with St Paul Peterson ahead of the July 27th event at the >Majestic Madison where St. Paul and the Minneapolis Funk All Stars will be brinGing all the hits of some of the most important grooves to be born with many of the original players, the people who have this sound running through their veins. We get into these artists that’ll be doing this thang here in Madison, the amazing history of the Minneapolis Sound and how carrying on the legacy has taken on a new meaning now without Prince. We talk Prince, The Family & The Time of course as well as a little Purple Rain, because, well, how could we not. I ask St. Paul to by=uild a set list around some of the artists he has worked with and the list is of course, diverse like we like it here on the proGram, and in that same vein, he shares a new thing he is up to, his Funk Fridays series he is doing on social media, sending out a groove to others from his rolodex and putting it together. While this will be his first time playing in Madison, he is well connected here with Ben Sidran sited as a pal. Gonna be an amazing time in Madison. Hit Me!!

The All-stars include (Bolded members will appear in Madison):

Jellybean Johnson – Drummer for The Time and The Family.
Dr. Fink – Keyboardist for Prince and the Revolution.
Kirk Johnson – Drummer for Prince and the NPG.
Elisa Fiorillo – Singer for Prince and the NPG.
Oliver Leiber – Producer of Paula Abdul and guitarist with Tamara and The Seen.
Jason Peterson DeLaire – Keys and saxophone with Solo and Carmen Electra.
Horn Heads – Horn section for Prince.
Homer O’Dell – Mint Condition
St. Paul Peterson – The Time and The Family