Deep Purple at Mystic Showroom in Prior Lake - tickets for hard rock classics, Kansas and the new SPLAT! era

Deep Purple in Prior Lake: hard rock classics and a new phase for the band

Deep Purple is coming to the Mystic Showroom in Prior Lake at a time when the band is not living solely on its own history. The current concert phase is connected with the album "SPLAT!", released on July 3, 2026, while the North American tour brings Deep Purple and Kansas together for a series of concerts across the United States and Canada. For the audience, this means an evening in which the history of hard rock meets new material, without turning the concert into a museum-style review of the band's career.

Deep Purple performs with the lineup of Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Don Airey and Simon McBride. Gillan, Glover and Paice provide a direct connection with the band's classic period, while Airey and McBride give the current lineup its own character. McBride became a permanent member of the band in 2022, following Steve Morse's departure, and by the 2024 album "=1" he had already become an important part of the group's newer sound.

Kansas has been confirmed as the special guest for Prior Lake. This gives the evening a clear classic rock framework: Deep Purple brings a catalog that includes "Smoke on the Water", "Highway Star", "Lazy", "Space Truckin'" and "Perfect Strangers", while Kansas adds songs such as "Carry On Wayward Son" and "Dust in the Wind" to the same evening. It is a combination for longtime fans, but also for an audience that wants to hear recognizable rock songs in a more compact venue.

Tickets for this event are currently on sale.

"SPLAT!" shows why Deep Purple still operates as a contemporary band

The most important context for this concert is not simply the fact that Deep Purple has existed since 1968. On July 3, 2026, the band released "SPLAT!", its 24th studio album, once again in collaboration with producer Bob Ezrin. The singles "Arrogant Boy", "Diablo" and "Guilt Trippin'" were released ahead of the album. In announcing the release, the band emphasized that it is one of their heaviest albums in recent years and that it was recorded with an emphasis on playing together in the studio.

That matters for the current concerts. The new material is not conceived as an obligatory break between old hits, but as part of the same musical language. Ahead of the release, Ian Gillan compared the album with the dynamics of the period in which songs such as "Highway Star", "Smoke on the Water" and "Lazy" were created. In practice, that means an emphasis on riffs, the relationship between guitar and keyboards, and room for instrumental interaction among the members.

The scale of the tour also shows how active this phase of the band's career is. Deep Purple announced at least 86 concerts in 28 countries across three continents for 2026. Prior Lake is part of that intensive run: according to the current schedule, the concert comes after Highland Park and before Winnipeg.

What recent performances reveal about the repertoire

The exact set list for the Mystic Showroom has not been confirmed in advance. Nevertheless, recent performances from 2026 provide a good framework for the kind of evening Deep Purple is currently creating. Concerts in Halifax, Mansfield, Raleigh and other cities have featured a combination of older catalog material and new songs.

Among the titles that have appeared during the current phase are:

• "Highway Star", "Into the Fire", "Lazy", "When a Blind Man Cries" and "Space Truckin'"
• "Perfect Strangers" from a later but equally recognizable phase of the band
• "Arrogant Boy" and "Diablo" from the album "SPLAT!"
• "A Bit on the Side" and "Lazy Sod" from the album "=1"
• "Smoke on the Water", "Hush" and "Black Night" as frequent parts of the endings of recent performances

This is not an announcement of the repertoire for Prior Lake, but an overview of patterns from previous concerts. Live, Deep Purple often leaves room within songs for guitar and keyboard passages, so an important part of the experience is the way the band develops the material on stage, rather than simply the list of song titles.

Kansas is not merely an introduction to the main performance

Kansas has a sufficiently recognizable catalog on this tour that the evening does not begin as a period of waiting for Deep Purple. The band from Topeka released its first album in 1974, while "Carry On Wayward Son" and "Dust in the Wind" remain among its best-known songs. Recent performances have also included "Point of Know Return", "Song for America", "The Wall" and "Hold On".

The combination also makes sense because of the differences in sound. Deep Purple is more strongly rooted in British hard rock, with riffs, keyboards and improvisation, while Kansas combines hard rock with progressive elements, vocal harmonies, keyboards and violins. It has not been confirmed that Kansas will perform the same repertoire in Prior Lake as on previous dates, so individual songs should not be taken as a promise.

Mystic Showroom: 2,100 seats and a more compact relationship with the stage

The concert takes place in the Mystic Showroom, a venue inside the Mystic Lake Casino Hotel complex. For Deep Purple, a band accustomed to arenas, amphitheaters and large festival stages, this is an interesting format because the venue has 2,100 fixed stadium-style seats. Technical information about the venue states that there are no seats with obstructed views, and the venue is non-smoking.

Mystic Lake particularly highlights the acoustics, sightlines and wider seats with more legroom. That does not guarantee how the mix will sound on the night itself, but the space provides a different feeling from a large open-air amphitheater. The audience is closer to the stage, and instrumental details - Gillan's vocal nuances, Airey's keyboards and McBride's guitar - can stand out without the great distance characteristic of stadium productions.

The start time should be checked immediately before arrival

For this event, there is an important difference between the earlier announcement and the current event page. A Mystic Lake press release from March listed the start time as 8:00 PM, while the current concert page now lists 7:00 PM. Because the time has changed, planning for arrival should be based on the latest announcement, and the schedule should be checked again on the day of the concert.

Mystic Showroom recommends arriving 30 to 45 minutes before the start because visitors go through a security screening with metal detectors. This amount of extra time is also useful for parking and finding one's seat.

Getting there, parking and entry rules

Mystic Lake Casino Hotel is located at 2400 Mystic Lake Blvd., Prior Lake, Minnesota. Prior Lake lies on the southwestern edge of the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area and is connected to the road network near US 169 and Interstate 35.

Free parking is available at the complex, including a covered garage connected to the building by a skyway. For arrivals by taxi or rideshare service, there is a drop-off and pick-up area at the hotel entrance.

Before setting out, it is useful to check several rules:

• arrive 30 to 45 minutes early because of the security screening
• small bags and purses are allowed, but may be inspected
• backpacks and oversized bags are not allowed
• outside food and beverages are not permitted
• professional cameras with interchangeable lenses and professional audio and video equipment are not allowed
• selfie sticks, tripods, drones and laser pointers are also prohibited
• people under the age of 18 may attend only with a parent or legal guardian

The venue has accessible seating, and Mystic Lake Casino Hotel states that the complex is accessible. If you need a particular type of accessible seat, it is better to arrange this before arrival.

Prior Lake as a base for a concert visit

Prior Lake is not the center of Minneapolis, but a separate city on the southwestern edge of the wider Twin Cities area. The city is known for its lakes, parks and outdoor recreation, so visitors arriving earlier can combine the concert with a quieter part of the day outside the urban center.

City data lists 15 lakes within Prior Lake. The largest is Prior Lake, consisting of Upper Prior and Lower Prior, while Lakefront Park near the city center offers trails, a public beach, a fishing pier and other amenities. It is a practical option for visitors who want to spend a few hours outdoors before the evening program.

For travelers from another state or country, it is useful to view Prior Lake and the broader Minneapolis-Saint Paul area as a single whole. Accommodation is available within the Mystic Lake complex itself, while a larger selection of hotels, restaurants and urban amenities is available throughout the rest of the metropolitan area. If the plan also includes Minneapolis or Saint Paul, traffic should be taken into account and additional time should be allowed for the drive to Prior Lake.

Who will find this concert particularly interesting

The clearest audience is fans who have followed Deep Purple for decades and want to hear the foundational songs of hard rock once again in the current lineup. But the concert also makes sense for younger listeners who know only a few of the most famous riffs. The new album and Simon McBride on guitar provide enough reason to regard the band as a present-day live unit rather than merely the bearer of a historic name.

A second group consists of classic rock fans for whom Kansas is almost as important as the main performance. Instead of an evening with one major name and a brief opening act, this offers a double program with two different approaches to melody, instrumental passages and rock tradition.

The third group consists of visitors who prefer a medium-sized venue. The capacity of 2,100 seats creates a different relationship with the stage than the large amphitheaters on the rest of the tour. If sightlines, seating and the possibility of hearing more instrumental detail are important to you, the Mystic Showroom is a significant part of the reason to choose this particular date.

It is worth securing tickets in good time.

What is most important to know before setting out

Deep Purple's concert in Prior Lake is part of the North American tour with Kansas and comes during a very active year for the band, shortly after the release of the album "SPLAT!". Recent performances show that the band combines songs from the early 1970s, later phases and new releases, but the specific repertoire for the Mystic Showroom has not been confirmed in advance.

The most practical point is the start time: the current event page lists 7:00 PM, while the earlier announcement listed 8:00 PM, so the schedule should be checked immediately before arrival. It is reasonable to plan an additional 30 to 45 minutes for entry. Free parking is available at the complex, including a covered garage, while the rideshare area is located at the hotel entrance.

If you are coming for "Smoke on the Water", "Highway Star" or "Perfect Strangers", recent performances show that a large part of the band's classic identity remains present. If you are more interested in how Deep Purple sounds today, "Arrogant Boy", "Diablo" and material from "SPLAT!" give this concert cycle a more contemporary framework. With Kansas on the same bill, the evening offers enough content even for an audience that does not follow every new release by either band.

Sources:
- Deep Purple - tour schedule, announcement of North American dates with Kansas, current lineup and information about the album "SPLAT!" and the singles
- Mystic Lake Casino Hotel - Deep Purple with Special Guest Kansas event page, information about the Mystic Showroom, capacity, parking, accessibility, security screening and entry rules
- Mystic Lake Casino Hotel - March 2026 press release used to verify the previously published start time and the context of the concert
- Setlist.fm - recent Deep Purple and Kansas set lists from 2026 used as an overview of patterns from previous performances, not as an announcement of the repertoire for Prior Lake
- City of Prior Lake - the city's location within the Twin Cities area and information about lakes, parks and local amenities