On April 23, 2016 Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band stepped onto the stage at the Barclays Center and the lights went to purple as they began playing "Purple Rain." Caryn Rose, of NPR Music, called this the perfect lesson in public mourning. As Caryn says, "There's something absolutely spiritual about the power of being able to mourn in public, as Springsteen himself demonstrated after the deaths of E Street Band members Danny Federici in 2008 and then Clarence Clemons in 2011. … So Springsteen knows the value of working your grief out communally, and the power of expressing that despair through live rock and roll. The catharsis that came out of the performance of 'Purple Rain' Saturday night was for him just as it was for the audience."

Possible Preaching Angle:

If a rock star understands the importance of community how much more should Christians and the church?

Source:

Caryn Rose, “Bruce Springsteen's Tribute To Prince Is A Lesson In Public Mourning,” NPR (4-27-16)