First Avenue — Prince's Minneapolis, Minnesota

First Avenue at 701 First Avenue North in downtown Minneapolis is the nightclub immortalised in Prince's Purple Rain (1984) — both the album and the film, which used the venue as its primary setting. The club had been operating since 1970 (originally as Uncle Sam's, then Sam's), but Prince's association with it from the late 1970s onward made it one of the most famous music venues in the world. He performed some of his earliest shows there and continued to play unannounced sets throughout his career. The exterior's black walls, decorated with gold stars bearing the names of artists who have sold out the venue, have become an iconic image.

First Avenue was the centre of the Minneapolis music scene that Prince dominated but did not monopolise. The Replacements, Hüsker Dü, Soul Asylum, the Jayhawks, and Semisonic all came through the club's orbit, and the venue's 7th Street Entry — a smaller adjoining room — served as a launching pad for emerging acts. The Minneapolis sound that Prince created — a fusion of funk, rock, pop, new wave, and R&B — was developed on First Avenue's stage and dance floor, and the venue's atmosphere of multiracial, genre-defying music reflected Prince's own artistic vision.

First Avenue continues to operate as a concert venue and nightclub, presenting live music most nights. Following Prince's death on April 21, 2016, at Paisley Park, thousands of fans gathered outside First Avenue in an impromptu memorial vigil, and the venue's exterior was bathed in purple light. The club was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.