As reported by Dr. Funkenberry on the PRINCE Spreecast tonight, it is time to break out your finest purple blouses — Prince is back! Fresh off his 5-encore 22-piece band marathon set that blew everyone else out of the water at SXSW, Prince has confirmed the recent rumblings around a west coast based tour. Starting in Vancouver on April 15th then heading south to Seattle, California, Phoenix and Las Vegas, Prince will perform two nights in each city with his new all-female backing band, 3rd Eye Girl. These concerts will be in the vein of The Purple One’s infamous late night club shows as opposed to the stadium extravaganzas most recently featured on the “Welcome 2 America” tour. Ticket info should be released some time next week and are sure to go fast. It goes without saying, but anyone lucky enough to get tickets to these relatively intimate shows will be in for a serious treat.

PRINCE 2013 SPRING TOUR DATES:

04/15 – Vancouver, BC @ The Vogue (Early Show)
04/15 – Vancouver, BC @ The Vogue (Late Show)
04/16 – Vancouver, BC @ The Vogue (Early Show)
04/16 – Vancouver, BC @ The Vogue (Late Show)
04/18 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox (Early Show)
04/18 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox (Late Show)
04/19 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox (Early Show)
04/19 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox (Late Show)
04/23 – San Francisco, DNA Lounge (Early Show)
04/23 – San Francisco, DNA Lounge (Late Show)
04/24 – San Francisco, DNA Lounge (Early Show)
04/24 – San Francisco, DNA Lounge (Late Show)
04/26 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Joint (Early Show)
04/26 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Joint (Late Show)
04/27 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Joint (Early Show)
04/27 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Joint (Late Show)
04/30 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Marquee (Early Show)
04/30 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Marquee (Late Show)
05/01 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Marquee (Early Show)
05/01 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Marquee (Late Show)
05/03 – San Diego, CA @ Hard Rock Hotel (Early Show)
05/03 – San Diego, CA @ Hard Rock Hotel (Late Show)
05/04 – San Diego, CA @ Hard Rock Hotel (Early Show)
05/04 – San Diego, CA @ Hard Rock Hotel (Late Show)
05/07 – Anaheim, CA @ The Grove (Early Show)
05/07 – Anaheim, CA @ The Grove (Late Show)
05/08 – Anaheim, CA @ The Grove (Early Show)
05/08 – Anaheim, CA @ The Grove (Late Show)
07/13 – Montreux, CH @ Montreux Jazz Festival
07/14 – Montreux, CH @ Montreux Jazz Festival
07/15 – Montreux, CH @ Montreux Jazz Festival
08/04 – Stockholm, SE @ Stockholm Music & Arts Festival
08/07 – Skanderborg, DK @ Smuckfest

[Dates updated via CoS]

Huge hat tip to the good folks over at Dr. Funkenberry for breaking this news via an interview with the ladies of 3rd Eye Girl. You can watch the playback of the show here. 3rd Eye Girl appears about an hour in.

Also, for a sneak preview of what to expect at these shows, check out Prince’s performance with 3rd Eye Girl on Jimmy Fallon earlier this month here.