Features
Maya Rudolph & The Roots Perform The Music Of Prince
Tonight “Saturday Night Live” alumni Maya Rudolph will take the stage in Brooklyn with The Roots to perform the music of Prince. A second Rudolph/Roots gig in New York has just been confirmed for Friday.
Rudolph showed off her singing chops on SNL as local grocery store “Anthem Idol” contest winner Pamela Bell, in addition to playing divas such as Christina Aguilera, Whitney Houston and Beyoncé.
But don’t let her rendition of the national anthem fool you – Rudolph, the daughter of soul singer Minnie Riperton, really can sing. Also, she’s pretty much the coolest ever for touring and recording with The Rentals (in real life) in the late ‘90s as the rock band’s keyboardist and backing vocalist.
The actress/comedian/singer appeared on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” Wednesday where she talked about the band she was in during college at UC Santa Cruz with her friend, singer/songwriter Gretchen Lieberum. The band, called SuperSauce, even got to open for No Doubt when Gwen Stefani & Co. came to town.
Years later Rudolph and Lieberum formed a Prince cover band called Princess. After chatting with Fallon, Rudolph performed the Prince song “Darling Nikki” with Lieberum and The Roots.
You can hear more Prince tunes tonight when Rudolph, backed by The Roots, plays the Brooklyn Bowl. A ?uestlove DJ set will follow. Although advance tickets are sold out, the venue’s website says a limited amount of tickets will be available at the box office starting at 10 p.m. EST the night of the show. All admission at the door is cash only – first come, first serve.
Rudolph and Lieberum have just been confirmed as special guests at Friday’s Roots show at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, N.Y. The gig, which is followed by ?uestlove’s “Cap Train” Dance Party, also features Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe. Tickets are on sale now.