Purple problems: What was right and what was wrong with Prince Celebration 2024

Celebration 2024 had a more daunting task than usual for its sixth posthumous gathering of Prince fans last weekend in the Twin Cities:

How do you celebrate the 40th anniversary of the “Purple Rain” movie and introduce the work-in-progress “Purple Rain” musical while catering to the hard-core fans who want to experience unreleased material from Prince’s fabled vault?

Such Purple problems.

In their second year in charge of Celebration, New York-based Londell McMillan and Charles Spicer of Prince Legacy LLC and the Paisley Park staff tried to touch all the bases — including live performances, panel discussions and almost-purifying cruises on Lake Minnetonka — and, despite some disorganization and other hiccups, Celebration 2024 was a praiseworthy reimagining.

Unlike the previous years, I wasn’t able to attend all the activities in the five-day event because I had other assignments, including concerts by Morgan Wallen and New Kids on the Block. But I monitored social media accounts and interviewed Celebration-goers, both veterans and newcomers.

Here are some thoughts:

For the first time, many of Celebration’s activities were in downtown Minneapolis to acknowledge “Purple Rain.” The Revolution revisited First Avenue for two nights with guest vocalist Judith Hill, a Prince protégée from a later era. The State Theatre was the scene of performances by Morris Day and the New Power Generation, a screening of a new hi-def “Purple Rain” movie, and a presentation of the “Purple Rain” musical with creative principals and workshop actors.

Purple fams — Prince didn’t like the word fans, short for fanatics — loved watching the newly 4K film with more than 1,000 other devotees. “It was like seeing ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ again because everyone knew the lines,” said longtime Purple believer Marilynn McNair of Atlanta.

Hearing from the book writer, music supervisor and director of the musical — all relatively young but with impressive Broadway credits — allayed fans’ fears that the new project is looking to tell Prince’s story. No, it’s based on the plot of the movie, with the characters more fleshed out. A few musical numbers were performed by a workshop cast and everyone was wowed by the wondrous Rachel Webb as Apollonia.

“RIDICULOUS,” Rhonda Nicole, a singer and Celebration vet, declared about Webb on X. “The preview was incredible.”

There are no guarantees that Webb will be part of the cast when the musical premieres April 10 at the State Theatre. But you can guarantee that a smartly conceived and well executed musical will expose Prince’s music to new audiences.

As for Morris Day’s half-hour performance on Saturday night, he seemed dispirited without the Time backing him. “He seemed flat, low-energy,” said Celebration rookie Mary Wimmer of Winston-Salem, N.C. And Saturday’s incarnation of the NPG, which supported Day, was underwhelming in its set.

Prince never would have tolerated such lackluster performances. “You’re fined,” I can imagine him saying. “And you’re going to rehearse for a few more hours tonight. Go back to Paisley. Now.”

When it came to the “Purple Rain” panels, fams were excited to hear from Day, recording engineer Susan Rogers and especially Billy Sparks, who played the owner of First Avenue in the film. The five members of the Revolution thankfully shared different stories than they had at previous Celebrations.

Saturday’s 12-hour open-to-the-public Block Party next to the Prince mural on 1st Avenue N. downtown was a hit despite too much rain. I experienced three live versions of “Purple Rain” on that day, including one at midnight as I exited the State Theatre after the Day and NPG show.

Moving into downtown Minneapolis was an intentional step to build for future Celebrations.

“The organizers put a stake in the ground and stepped out of Chanhassen and came into downtown and shared the Prince legacy with the Minneapolis community and hopefully can grow it in the future,” McMillan said after Celebration.

Hearing unreleased material is always a highlight — and priority — for VIP ticket holders. Among the 10 pieces played at Paisley Park were demos of “Let’s Go Crazy” and “Purple Rain”; a 1977 jazz jam with Prince and André Cymone; “Friction” by Prince’s alter ego, Jamie Starr, from an unreleased 1985 album, and a track from the unreleased 2003 album “Calibama.”

“That’s a great gift they give us,” McNair, who was attending her sixth Celebration, said of the peeks into the vault.

Purple followers were excited to view vault footage of a 2004 soundcheck in Reno on the Musicology Tour and a 1985 Miami concert from the Purple Rain Tour, but some complained that the screenings were cut short.

A big complaint was that Celebration-goers, whether VIP ($1,350) or general admission ($750), were given limited time to tour Paisley Park. The stunning display of Prince’s footwear — unquestionably the most remarkable and ambitious exhibit Paisley has ever presented — has disappointingly been replaced by an uninspired Purple Rain presentation. Bummer!

“VIP ticket holders got a 25-minute rushed tour of Paisley Park that was far less than the lowest tier tour available to the general public during normal business hours,” tweeted Donny English, who has attended every Celebration (including the three Prince staged in the early ‘00s) and posted daily critiques this year.

For Celebration 2024, the activities at Paisley were quite limited compared with previous years. A gospel brunch landed in a tent on the Paisley grounds this year. Liv Warfield — a former Prince associate who oozes passion (even in the current TV commercial for “America’s Got Talent”) — once again gave two stirring performances on the soundstage on Monday, the same day there were several boat cruises on Lake Minnetonka.

Splitting time between Chanhassen and Minneapolis challenged Celebration-goers — who came from England, New Zealand and all over the States — when it came to logistics.

Where do we stay? Do we rent a car? Rideshare? Why aren’t the shuttle buses as efficient as previous years?

Schedules indicating the two locations were not distributed until the day before Celebration began. Prince could get away with last-minute announcements because he always delivered something special but this lack of advance information was inexcusable.

“From not really working the city of Minneapolis into this year’s theme — this wasn’t expressively done in any of the promotion — to not sending email updates to guests who’d already purchased tickets, this was a missed opportunity,” said Nicole, who called this her least favorite of the four Celebrations she’s attended.

One other disappointment: Beyond the “Purple Rain” musical that is targeted for Broadway, McMillan didn’t announce any new projects — no music releases, no concert footage and no update on the authorized Netflix series on Prince that has been more than four years in the making.

In addition to official Celebration events, there were plenty of other ancillary Princely activities around town, whether organized or not, such as driving by houses in which Prince lived; record shopping at the Electric Fetus; attending a talk by Prince fashion designer Vaughn Terry at a northeast Minneapolis art gallery; partying at the fundraiser Crystal Ball in look-at-me outfits at the Woman’s Club, and listening to academic papers and discussions at the “Prince on Film” symposium at the University of Minnesota.

We asked a few Celebration-goers to rate their experience, on a scale of 1 to 10.

Scott Morin of Calgary, first Celebration: “I felt like I had found my family when I was at Celebration 2024.” Rating: 8.5.

Marilynn McNair of Atlanta, sixth Celebration: “They have work to do. We put our money where Londell’s mouth is.” Rating: 7.

Rhonda Nicole of Los Angeles, fourth Celebration and she presented a paper at the “Prince on Film” symposium: “Hosting events in downtown Minneapolis was a nice change of pace. It allowed for more downtime between the day and evening activities and offered better dining options than what we’ve typically had at Paisley Park.” Rating: 6.

Donny English of Baltimore, ninth Celebration including three when Prince was alive: “I believe that the fans have a responsibility to maintain the legacy and ensure accountability.” Rating 4.

Despite their grumblings, all of them said they plan to attend Celebration 2025.