MINNEAPOLIS - Hundreds of people stood outside First Avenue Thursday night for an impromptu block party celebrating Prince’s life.

The Current radio station organized the concert where several local musicians sang some of Prince’s greatest hits.

Earlier in the day, hundreds passed by the popular night spot that Prince made famous.

"Look at the people man, he was loved around here,” said Jason Span, of Minneapolis, who laid flowers outside of First Avenue. “He was a hometown guy.”

n the last couple of years, I’ve heard so many touring artists pay tribute to Prince during their Minnesota tour stops that it’s been almost tempting to let the reverence become routine. Nate Ruess of fun. covered “Let’s Go Crazy” last summer; Francesco Yates (of dancefloor earworm “Sugar” fame) made the pilgrimage to First Avenue in September and told his Fine Line audience about it later that night. Just before Caroline Smith played a show at the Mainroom on April 16, opener Harriet Brown channeled Prince’s style all set long. And the foremost homage on my mind is TV On The Radio’s show-capping version of “Purple Rain,” which they covered for the first time in July at First Avenue.

Now, as the world mourns Prince, it’s become impossible to see anything about him as routine. To celebrate his life, Minnesotans (and road trippers) canceled their plans and flocked to downtown on Thursday night, first gathering outside First Avenue and then dancing all night long in the venue’s Mainroom.

Although a few passing cars blaring the hits got the crowd dancing early, the evening officially began at 8:00 p.m. with a street party hosted outside First Avenue by the venue, The Current, and the City of Minneapolis.

“If you need to cry, cry. If you need to dance, dance. If you need to hug somebody, do that,” said The Current host Jade to those gathered; many cried, and many hugged, but most people had come to dance. A cheer went up when DJ Shannon Blowtorch kicked off the night with “Let’s Go Crazy.”