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Paisley Park begins selling replicas of Prince-invented ‘Tamboracca’ instrument

Paisley Park
Paisley Park

by Hanna Bubser

February 24, 2017

Paisley Park has announced, via an e-mail to ticket buyers, that a presale for replicas of Prince's "Tamboracca." The Tamboraccas will run $80 each, and those interested are being encouraged to email preorders@officialpaisleypark.com for additional information.

The custom yellow-and-purple instrument includes an early version of the famous Prince insignia in the center. Described as a blend of a maraca and tambourine, the Tamboracca was previously sold by Prince via direct sales through 1-800-NEW-FUNK, Glam Slam, and the Minneapolis NPG store. For a limited time, it is being recreated for Prince fans visiting the late artist's Chanhassen estate.

Lest there be any doubt as to the significance of the Tamboracca, the Minnesota Historical Society has preserved a 1992 model in its collection.

In other Paisley Park news, the venue has apparently hosted at least one private corporate event. Media professional Beth Gasser has blogged about attending an invitation-only conference on cyber security, hosted at Paisley Park Wednesday morning and run by Minnesota tech company BusinessWare Solutions.

According to a since-deleted event description, the conference included "a keynote presentation on security by Computer Forensic Services, short presentations by HP, Inc., WatchGuard, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise / Aruba, and a tour of the famous Paisley Park complex."

Gasser was delighted for the opportunity to attend a business conference at Paisley Park, and even painted her nails purple for the occasion. The venue's website doesn't have any information about private rentals, so it's unclear whether the event was a paid rental or whether the company has a business relationship with Paisley Park.

Some corporate events were held at Paisley Park during Prince's lifetime — especially in the late '80s and the early '90s, when Prince's staff actively advertised the venue for rentals. Gasser writes that the no-phones policy still applied during the BusinessWare conference. "We were 200+ of the most captivated audience in Minnesota that day, of that I’m certain!"

Hanna Bubser is a student at Hamline University.

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This activity is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.