As he continues to ride on the success of his 2006 release “3121” and gears up for the forthcoming release of his newest studio offering “Planet Earth” next month, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Prince will be playing at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel for seven nights, kicking off with a two-nighter on June 23 and 24, and followed by a three-nighter on June 28 to 30.  The last two shows completing the seven-night line-up will be announced later.

The HRH shows are billed as intimate gigs, with the Blossom Room of the Roosevelt accommodating only a maximum of 200 people including those with VIP passes.  The VIP package includes a specially prepared dinner by Prince’s very own chef for 130 VIP guests which will be served at the Roosevelt’s Dakota Restaurant.  Regular or SRO tickets go for $312.10 a piece while the VIP dinner costs $3,121 for two plates, good for couples or paired guests.  All ticket prices pay homage to Prince’s “3121” album which surfaced in the market in spring last year and marked the first chart topping album for the Purple One.  For show passes and VIP packages, email the Roosevelt ticketing office at 3121HRH@ThompsonHotels.com.

Attendees of the said intimate shows at the Roosevelt are also entitled to a special treat as they can have access to download “Guitar”, the carrier single from Prince’s new album set to hit shelves on July 24, thanks to the V Cast Song ID feature by Verizon Wireless.  Each show is scheduled to run for two hours with Prince performing tracks from “3121”, the new release “Planet Earth” and some of his classic hits as well, after which he will be spearheading a jam session featuring freestyle jazz beats.

But Prince’s summer slate does not stop there.  Following his HRH gig is a very lengthy slate at the O2 Arena across the pond in London starting on August 1.  With a pocket friendly ticket price set at ?31.21 (or about $62 USD), again in reference to his current album, tickets for the first 15 shows have already been completely sold out only hours after it became available to the public last month.

And once again, Prince’s busy summer schedule does not stop there.  After his 21-show gig in London, His Purple Highness will be flying back to the States for a July 7 show at the Target Center in his hometown in Minneapolis, after which he is slated to fly east coast for the East Hampton concert series “Social”, where entrance to the event is solely for the deep pocketed with passes sky rocketing to a rate of $15,000 a piece.

In support of his current chart topping release, 2006’s “3121”, Prince has signed on to play a lengthy stint across the pond in the UK this summer.  The 21-show engagement will kick off with a 7-nighter at the renowned O2 Arena in London starting on August 1.

The decision to stay in the UK for an unprecedented 21 nights was greatly motivated by the artist’s last appearance in the country.  “Last time I was here, a lot of people didn’t get to see me, so we are trying to make it affordable for everybody… That’s why we are doing such an extended stay,” says the singer.  As such, tickets for all 21 of his shows in the UK will be set at a fixed price of £31.21 ($62 USD), which is also the same sequence of numbers that carries the title of his current record.  Tickets for all shows will be available starting on May 11.  Prince is also giving away free copies of “3121” to all ticket buyers.

The UK gig will also be the artist’s sole European stop for now.  As for his future plans, he was quoted in saying that he is going to spend more time to “travel and study the bible” at the press conference for the said gig.

Meanwhile, fans of the artist can also see him perform live at the “Traveling through Life” concert series sponsored by Citi/Advantage Card.  He is set to perform at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco on May 19.  The concert series, which features the biggest names in music performing in intimate and smaller sized venues, will also feature pop diva Christina Aguilera and alt-rock icon Dave Matthews.

After being named as NAACP’s Outstanding Male Artist in the recently concluded Image Awards, the Purple One also known as Prince is about to close his Vegas residency gig at the Rio Hotel and Casino’s 3121 club as he hits its homestretch with only six shows left.

Prince will be finishing off the gig on April 28, after which he will be teaming up with Dave Matthews and Christina Aguilera for “Traveling through Life”, a series of intimate concerts brought by Citi/Advantage Card.  Prince is slated to perform at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco on May 19.

Aside from the “Traveling”  concert series, the forthcoming end to Prince’s gig at the 3121 club, which is also the title of his current album and his first record to have peaked atop the charts upon its release, will have him work on a new project although no word yet on what exactly the project will be but signs point to a follow-up to “3121”.

Among the latest in Prince’s work can also be heard in the soundtrack of the animated film “Happy Feet”  with the single “The Song of the Heart”, which earned a Golden Globe award.

Armed with his first Billboard 200 chart topper, “3121”, Prince has just signed on to perform in Sin City’s Empire Ballroom on May 27 and 28, a gig that poses to be the start of a slew of dates for the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer.

To welcome the Purple One in the Vegas venue, the Empire Ballroom will be temporarily named as the 3121 Nightclub.  About 1,500 people can be accommodated in the venue which only offers general admission seating.  Tickets will be available starting tomorrow, May 10, Wednesday, with tickets going a little over $312 a piece and with only a maximum of two tickets allowed per buyer.  A strict age rule is also being implemented, with attendees who are 21 years or older only allowed at the event.

An online presale today, May 9, offers advanced tickets exclusive to members of the NPG Music Club. Members are notified of the presale event via email.

Tagging along with Prince for the two-night Vegas engagement is newcomer Tamar who worked with the “3121”  artist for the cut, “Beautiful, Loved and Blessed”.

As mentioned, the Vegas stint shapes to be the beginning of a possible album tour or a residency gig in the strip, as NPG hinted though no other show dates in support of the new album were released.

“3121”, which carries the single “Black Sweat”, is Prince’s follow-up to his highly raved 2004 record, “Musicology”. The new release peaked atop the Billboard 200 upon its release two months ago and after it moved 183,000 copies on its first week in the shelves.

Prince is on a roll these days, not only was he inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this month, he also has a new album, “Musicology”, hitting the shelves in five days and he will be spending the next two seasons pounding the pavement for his US tour which kicks off in three days.

The spring leg of his tour will get underway on the 27th in Reno.  The current leg will span through May, after which he will go on a short break before embarking on the summer leg of his tour which opens also in May and will feature multiple nighters in cities like NYC (Madison Square Garden), Los Angeles (Staples Center), Philadelphia, Vegas and Boston.  Tickets for all shows, with the exception of a few stops, are already available to the general public.

The tour will be the last time the Purple One digs into his archives of classic hits.  In a press junket in February, he expressed his desire to perform new material instead of recycling his hits over and over in every live performance.  The tour will also feature stage designs in every venue that will have Prince perform in the center of the crowd or what is billed as an “in-the-round” concert experience.  Tagging along with him for the tour is his New Power Generation (NPG) music crew featuring a wide array of musicians from guitarists, synthesizers to wind instrument masters.

“Musicology” is slated for a March 29 digital release and will be initially available to members of Prince’s NPG Music Club.  A release date for the physical format of the record is still yet to be announced but word is that it will be distributed under Columbia Records as reported by Billboard.com.

“The Rainbow Children”, Prince’s follow-up to 1999’s “Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic”, would not be physically available to his fans until November 20.  But members of the artist’s exclusive NPG Music Club are the exception.

The NPG Music Club, which Prince launched this year to allow his fans willing to spend a few dollars exclusive access to his music downloads, news and other items and memorabilia, will be the first to sample the Purple One’s new release via an online download starting tomorrow, but there is a catch, only premium members of the club who paid an annual fee of $100 are entitled to the special privilege.  Basic members who continue to pay a monthly fee of $7.77, as well as everyone else who are not members of the said club would have to wait till next month for the album’s official release, or they could drop by the listening party for the album later this week.

The listening party is scheduled to happen in Prince’s very own Paisley Park Studios in his hometown in Twin Cities on October 20, Friday.

“The Rainbow Children”, which carries the single “The Work- Pt.1”, will be the first Prince record to be released under his new record label, Redline Entertainment.  The move comes after Prince expressed his disappointment and dismay towards Arista Records, distributor of his previous release, regarding the mismanagement in the marketing and distribution of the said record.  The move to Arista springs from the artist’s lengthy legal battle with his former record label, Warner Music, regarding the creative use of his name, “Prince”, and his music released under the said label.

As for tour plans in support of “Rainbow”, the artist’s camp has not yet released any information on the matter nor have they hinted on a plan to do so.

After performing for a string of shows in the Midwest beginning with a show in his native Minneapolis in June to kick things off, Prince has scrapped the rest of the dates for the remainder of his summer trek, including all of his Canadian stops except for one.

The initially planned 28-city North American trek was cut short to a mere 6-city stop with Prince playing only in Columbus, OH, Omaha, Milwaukee, Detroit and Montreal for the Montreal Jazz Fest earlier this month.  Reps for the singer gave no reason for the cancelations or any details on ticket refunds.

Meanwhile, with a new album, “The Rainbow Children”, set to hit shelves anytime this year, Prince have hinted on a world tour in support of the forthcoming release via a message posted on his website which read: “Costumes, and set pieces r still ordered 4 The World Tour…as well as a physical therapist, cook and tutors 4 “studying” band members. All r hopeful that b4 the summer is out, PRINCE and the NPG will b coming ur way soon!”

With a North American trek slated to open today, June 15, in Minnesota, Prince has abruptly pulled the plug off all his Canadian stops as relayed by the tour’s promoter, House of Blues Concerts and as reported by Canadian broadsheet, Winnipeg Sun.

All of the Purple One’s Canadian shows beginning with a July 7 show in Toronto has been considered as canceled since no new dates where provided for the postponed shows.  Other axed Canadian stops include Winnipeg, Montreal for the Montreal Jazz Festival, Vancouver, Saskatoon, and Vancouver.

In addition, the Winnipeg Sun reports that the fate of most dates that make up the bulk of the artist’s tour are bleak.  No other information was provided by House of Blues Concerts as for the reason surrounding the cancellations and also with regards to ticket refunds for the canceled dates.

As of press time, reps for the artist have not released any comments regarding the matter.

Prince’s “Hit N’ Run”  tour has two more stops under its belt, with a December 3 show at the Ruby Skye club and a December 8 gig at the San Jose Event Center at the San Jose University, both happening in SanFo, now part of the itinerary.

Tickets for both shows will be available beginning on December 3 at 10 AM with tickets for the Ruby Skye show available via the Warfield Theatre ticketing office and the tickets for the San Jose University stop available via the San Jose Event Center ticketing office.  Tickets.com will also be offering passes via the internet starting on the same day and time.

Ticket prices for the Ruby Skye show go for $100 and are limited to only one ticket per head, while tickets for the San Jose Event Center show go for only $65 and each person can purchase up to a maximum of four tickets.

The “Hit N’ Run” tour opened in Massachusetts weeks ago, with Prince, known for his mysterious persona and his purple cloak, releasing details about the tour’s itinerary as the it goes along.  The December leg of the said tour opens tonight, December 1, with a show in Dallas, after which he will be heading to the bay area for the two new added stops, then head on to Sin City for a December 9 show in the Nevadan city.

He is one of the very few artists who managed to survive the highly competitive music market despite changing his screen name as often as he changes his attire in a single concert.  The artist formerly known as Prince, as a symbol and as a whole lot else, will now be known from here on as just and once again, Prince.

After having been forbidden by Warner Bros. Records for more than five years to use the said name which actually appears on his birth certificate – Prince Rogers Nelson – the singer finally announced via a press junket in New York earlier today that he is finally sticking by his given name, the same name that struck him to stardom and helped him remain in that status for close to two decades.

Prince announced that last year marked the end of his contract with the record label which finally freed him from all intellectual property rights prohibiting him to use his own name.  “I will now go back to using my name instead of the symbol I adopted to free myself from all undesirable relationships,” said the music icon.