That black building with silver stars on its exterior is First Avenue, one of the most important music venues in the United States. First Avenue opened in 1970 as a Greyhound bus depot conversion — the Depot had stood at this corner since 1937 — and became the center of Minneapolis's extraordinary live music scene. By the early 1980s it was the home stage of a Minneapolis scene that would produce some of the most original music of the decade: the Replacements, Husker Du, Soul Asylum, and one musician who was playing here before any of them were famous.
Prince performed his breakthrough Purple Rain concert here on August 3rd, 1983 — the live recordings from that night were used throughout the 1984 film. The exterior stars commemorate artists who have sold out the venue. Find Prince's star.
The venue has a policy of keeping ticket prices low and of booking unknown local acts alongside touring names, and that commitment to accessibility is part of why the Minneapolis scene has been so consistently vital. They were still booking local punk and hip-hop acts on the same stage as national acts last month.