Prince, Pink Floyd tributes take to casino stages

It’s a battle of the tribute acts Sept. 13 as Purple Reign: The Prince Tribute Show and the Australian Pink Floyd Show are set to take the stage at the Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel and Northern Quest Casino, respectively.

Purple Reign began to take shape after frontman Jason Tenner dressed as Prince for a Halloween party.

His costume was so well-received, he decided to team up with bassist Jason Underwood and guitarist Brent Wheeler, with whom he was already performing in a ’70s-era funk and disco tribute show called “The Mothership Connection,” and keyboardist Greg Orr and drummer Micheal Paul to form Purple Reign.

For more than 20 years now, Purple Reign has performed all of Prince’s biggest hits, while also recreating some of the late singer’s most iconic outfits.

The band’s show, which also features a tribute to Morris Day and the Time, was voted the best tribute act by the 28th annual Las Vegas Review Journal poll in 2009, and Purple Reign was the first tribute act to perform on “Late Show with David Letterman.”

When not on the road, Purple Reign performs regularly at the Tropicana Las Vegas.

Purple Reign performs a free show for Coeur Rewards members at the Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort Hotel.

Since forming in 1988, the Australian Pink Floyd Show, then known as Think Floyd, has seen a similarly meteoric rise.

After making a name for itself in Australia, the band began performing in the U.K. and across Europe.

After one of these U.K. shows, Pink Floyd guitarist and vocalist David Gilmour visited the band backstage and invited them to perform at his 50th birthday.

Using that momentum, the Australian Pink Floyd Show performed at Glastonbury Festival and, a few years later, toured in support of the 30th anniversary of “The Dark Side of the Moon,” performing the album in its entirety.

In the last decade, the band played Wembley Arena for the first time and London’s O2 Arena.

The Australian Pink Floyd Show is Chris Barnes (vocals), Paul Bonney (drums), David Domminney Fowler (guitar/vocals), Ricky Howard (bass/vocals), Mike Kidson (saxophone), Emily Lynn (vocals), Steve Mac (guitar/vocals), Lorelei McBroom (vocals), Jason Sawford (keyboards) and Lara Smiles (vocals).

McBroom especially is a noteworthy member of the band, having performed with Pink Floyd on the band’s “Momentary Lapse of Reason” and “Delicate Sound of Thunder” tours.

The Australian Pink Floyd Show performs at Northern Quest Resort and Casino.