January 17, 2026 by Cessy Newmon for FOLIO WEEKLY
If you missed Marshall Charloff and the Purple Xperience at the Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts on the 16th, you should watch for his next stop in Jacksonville.
Few tribute artists truly embody the abilities of their artist at the level in which Mr. Charloff portrays Prince. Even then, most artists (like Rami Malek in Bohemian Rhapsody) use tracks or lip-sync. Mr. Charloff owns the stage with the poise and artistry that shows why he was chosen at a time when Prince oversaw all reproductions of his work, and why he has had a Las Vegas residency and toured the world for 15 years. He not only soars on the guitar, but jazzes it up on the keyboards, and then swaps keyboards for bass guitar with Allen Fisher.
The show opens with The Purple Xperience band (Tracey Blake, guitar; Allen Fisher, bass; Ron Caron, drums; Cory Eischen, keys). During the show, each of these talented musicians has their moment to solo and shine. Mr. Charloff enters and kicks off going into the audience to perform and peacock for anyone who wants to photo or video. He loves interacting with the audience, encouraging everyone to sing along and dance throughout. And his costume changes almost seem like magic, given that he changes between almost every song.
There was a wide range of ages in the audience. Everyone was on their feet many times through the performance. Many of Prince’s most popular pieces were done, as well as a few pulled from the archives. His music endures, with two of his chart-toppers having been included in the final episode of Stranger Things.
