A few days ago, news leaked that the City of St. Paul was in talks with Prince to produce a day-long event, tentatively slated for September 15. But after a few days of speculation, we have learned today that the event will not be happening after all.
"We would love to host another great concert event in Saint Paul, but we are postponing indefinitely at this point," says Joe Spencer, Director of Arts & Culture at the St. Paul mayor's office. And Communications Director Joe Campbell confirmed that the concert, which he says "was never scheduled to begin with," has been postponed.
The spotty details we heard about the event were certainly tantalizing; early rumblings indicated that multiple acts would perform, it would be in an unusual outdoor location, and there would be some kind of charity element.
A St. Paul resident had also sent us a public hearing notice (for a hearing scheduled for September 5, which is presumably now canceled) that indicated that one of the locations that was being considered for the event was the Robert Street Bridge and the neighboring Kellogg Mall Park -- a sign that St. Paul was thinking outside the box to put together a unique event.
The city did not comment on the reasons behind the postponement.
...Hoping this is not the last we hear about an outdoor event by Prince and Friends.