Prince Brings SXSW To A Memorable Close With Mammoth Show!

Prince Brings SXSW To A Memorable Close With Mammoth Show!

Prince cause one heck of a 'Housequake' when he brought the Austin, Texas music and film festival South by Southwest to a memorable close on Saturday night, ensuring that the party kept going until the early hours as he even outlasted some of the fans. The pint-sized pop star went on until 3 am, bringing the festival to an end in pure Price style, by leading a brass band-backed, funk showcase that even featured hip hop legends A Tribe Called Quest.

In front of only 300 people in the tiny La Zona Rosa venue, Prince went on and on behind a giant video board, occasionally dropping his rock-star act to serve as band leader of the massive backing group he brought with him for Saturday night's grand spectacle. For a festival that drew in 2,200 bands and artists this year alone, Prince's intimate yet extraordinary performance topped off the week with a show-stopping display that saw him play such hits as 'Purple Rain', '1999' and even a Curtis Mayfield and a Michael Jackson cover. With a potential finisher coming to a close, Prince reminded his fans that the show wont be a brisk run through of some hits, telling the audience "Don't make me hurt you. You know how many hits I got?"

The show, which was sponsored by electronics manufacturer Samsung, was a strictly no cameras affair, as is the attitude of Prince towards the prospect of piracy. Still, it didn't stop the audience enjoying the hit-parade as it went on into the night - those that lasted anyway. Prince was competing with fellow festival closers Justin Timberlake and the Smashing Pumpkins, but it was easily the little purple man who did the festival justice with the final performance of the festival. Green Day, Dave Grohl, Vampire Weekend, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs also all performed at SXSW this week too, who knows how organisers are going to top it next year!

Prince, seen here at Hop Farm Festival, brough SXSW to a memorable close with his performance.