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Paisley Park announces Celebration 2017: Four-day gathering to mark anniversary of Prince’s death

by Jay Gabler

November 28, 2016

Paisley Park has announced that will host a four-day gathering this spring to mark the first anniversary of Prince's April 21 death.

"Celebration 2017," which will take place at the Chanhassen venue from April 20-23, is billed as an event "bringing together musicians, creative personnel, special guests and friends who worked closest with Prince and knew him best, these four days will feature live music, panel discussions and presentations on Prince’s tremendous talent, influence and importance as a composer, musician, producer, live performer and filmmaker."

Among the confirmed participants, according to a poster, are the Revolution; the New Power Generation; Morris Day and the Time; and Liv Warfield and Shelby J with members of 3RDEYEGIRL. That means Celebration 2017 will be the first time ever that all three of Prince's most significant collaborative groups (the Revolution, the NPG, and 3RDEYEGIRL) will perform as part of the same event. The Revolution, who reunited in September, were not part of the official tribute concert held last month.

Tickets for the event are now on sale via Paisley Park. General-admission passes are $499; with $999 VIP passes also including special seating, parking, merch, meals, and access to guests. Single-day passes are not currently available.

Prince himself set the precedent for holding a "Celebration" at Paisley Park: in 2000, he hosted a seven-day festival that included venue tours, dance parties, and performances by artists including Prince himself. Prince also called his abbreviated 2001 tour "A Celebration." That tour included a similar experience at Paisley Park, as did a 2002 event called "Xenophobia," which included performances by artists including Norah Jones.

The Paisley Park event will be one of multiple conferences marking Prince's legacy in Minnesota. Last month, the Giant Steps conference at the Minneapolis Convention Center was devoted to Prince, and University of Minnesota professor Arun Saldanha is planning an extensive academic conference exploring Prince's life and music. An interdisciplinary conference is also planned for next year in the UK.

This weekend, Paisley Park will hold the first of what are planned to be weekly special events: Friday night dance parties, Saturday movie screenings (starting with Sign O' the Times), and Sunday morning brunches.

prince-celebration-2017-paisley-park

Andrea Swensson contributed reporting to this story.

Clean Water Land & Legacy Amendment
This activity is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.