Prince’s Former Band, New Power Generation, Gets a New Name: Here’s Why One Member Thinks It Was Time for a Change
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The musical collective formerly known as New Power Generation (NPG), which provided backing for Prince from 1990 to 2013, has officially changed its name to the Minneapolis Sound All Star Band. This rebranding comes as part of a broader transition following the expiration of the group’s trademark rights.
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The name change follows the expiration of NPG’s trademark rights. Global Music Rights, which manages the performance rights for Prince’s music, now prohibits tribute acts from performing his songs. NPG views the rebranding as a chance to shift its focus towards new music, set to be released later this year.
“This allows us to evolve and expand,” said NPG’s keyboardist Morris Hayes, who also served as Prince’s musical director. “It feels like the floodgates opened and there are endless possibilities in front of us. The name change was definitely overdue. It feels very liberating.”
After Prince’s death in 2016, NPG obtained a five-year license from Bremer Bank to continue using the name. Attempts to extend that license with Comerica Bank, now managing the estate, were met with resistance. “The new estate owners also conveyed to the band that the estate would no longer be licensing the trademarked name once the current agreement’s term expired,” explained Jill Willis, manager of the LLC representing several former NPG members.
Since 2022, the Prince estate has been jointly controlled by two entities: Prince Legacy LLC, which includes three of Prince’s half-siblings, and Prince Oat Holdings LLC, owned by music publishing firm Primary Wave. Neither group has responded to inquiries about the situation.
Although the band stopped using the trademarked name in 2022, it continued performing Prince’s music under the billing ‘The Music of Prince, featuring former members of the New Power Generation.’
NPG had previously performed under its original name with the estate’s permission, including at events like the annual celebration at Paisley Park and a Minnesota Timberwolves game last December.
Creating a new name was a “somewhat daunting” task, Hayes remarked, considering its connections to Prince and the sound that permeated the ’80s in Minneapolis. The group ultimately agreed on a name that reflects their musical identity and heritage. “We are a definite part of the musical tapestry created by Prince and we want to be a part of the soul of the sound of the Twin Cities,” he added.
According to Willis, while the Minneapolis Sound All Star Band can still perform some of Prince’s songs, their focus will shift towards original music they have been developing over the past few years. Hayes also mentioned that their new works include material inspired by “the tragic events happening recently in Minneapolis,” referencing the ICE killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
This situation is not unprecedented, as artists associated with Prince have faced issues over name usage. In 2022, the estate issued a letter to Morris Day, prohibiting him from registering a trademark for his band, Morris Day and the Time. However, the current estate administrators did not oppose Day’s trademark application later that year.
In August 2025, Apollonia, a protégé of Prince, filed a lawsuit claiming that the estate seeks to “steal” her name. The estate purportedly argued she had relinquished her rights as part of her contract for the movie Purple Rain. They have since filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, stating no intention to prevent her use of her stage name but seeking to register a trademark for “Apollonia 6.” The motion remains pending.
Additional reporting by Bill Donahue and Rachel Scharf.
