MINNEAPOLIS — There were smiles, not tears, dancing, not flower arrangements. The mood was festive, not funereal.
What a difference a year makes. In 2021 on April 21, on the fifth anniversary of Prince's passing, it was like a wake at Paisley Park as people in groups of 10 spent a few quiet minutes in front of his urn, surrounded by a sea of flowers.
On Thursday night, the sixth anniversary of Prince's death, it was billed as "A Night to Remember" at Paisley, his studio complex-turned-museum in Chanhassen. Bobby Z, drummer for Prince and the Revolution, took the stage and welcomed the Purple faithful.
Like a clergy man delivering a succinct but impactful sermon, he spoke of how Prince would mention his dreams — playing on "Saturday Night Live," making a movie — and they would somehow come true. He talked about the lessons he learned from Prince: Stick to your guns, believe in yourself, don't be predictable, don't be what people expect you to be.
Besides being an incredible musician, Prince had a special talent, the drummer pointed out, of "knowing who you were before you knew who you were."
"Let's celebrate this temple and palace he built," he said. "It's wonderful to see your beautiful faces."
Then Liv Warfield, one of Prince's protegees and backup singers, made it truly a night to remember. She delivered a spiritually infused, paisley-dusted funkathon that induced rapture and goosebumps.
Channeling Prince and mixing in her own hard-driving funk-rock flavors, Warfield played the sell-out crowd like a conductor leading an orchestra. Get up and dance, she urged. Come down the imaginary runway and "show me what you got." And women dressed to the nine's strutted their stuff to a slamming rendition of "U Got the Look," the 1987 Prince hit with Sheena Easton.
Warfield showed her stuff, too, interpreting other Prince favorites including "Controversy," "Take Me with U" and "Cream," recast with a slow deep-funk groove. She even had her first-rate band do the paisley instrumental "Madhouse." Shout out to guitarist Ryan Waters, who soared on the Paisley soundstage.
Warfield offered some of her own songs, including the fierce "Blackbird," the stomping new "Stare" and "The Unexpected," the soft-and-loud title track of her Prince-produced 2014 album. She even re-created her nerve-wracking first meeting with the Purple One but instead of telling it, she sang about it.
Clearly well-schooled by Prince, the Portland, Oregon-based dynamo commanded the Paisley Park stage like no one else since his passing. The barefoot, fringe-covered singer brought the energy, the spirit, the flair, the funk, the fun, the musicianship, the voice and the unpredictable.
As she wrapped it by segueing from her scalding "Why Do You Lie" into Prince's "Get Wild," she added a surprise: a recording of the Purple One himself singing the words of the refrain.
After 100 minutes with the kind of spiritual uplift that the Purple faithful needed on this anniversary of something sad, Warfield returned for an encore. She didn't sing, though; she merely requested the sound man to play Prince's song "Paisley Park." "Turn it up," she implored. "Turn it up."
To paraphrase the tune's lyrics, Paisley Park was indeed in the hearts of the 199 fans (the museum's license with Chanhassen limits the number of events for more than 200 people). They wore their Purple and Prince glyphs on jackets, jewelry and tattoos. They came from Europe and all over the United States. And they celebrated.
"This is where I'm supposed to be," said Konya Roberts of the San Francisco Bay Area. "It feels like home. It feels peaceful."
For Joyce Mayes of Minneapolis, it was her place of work, selling souvenirs at Paisley when Prince was alive. On her first trip back since he died, she said it felt "weird. I keep expecting to see him come around the corner. I miss him so much."
Stacy Morgan, a New Yorker who moved to Minneapolis two years ago, felt this year's anniversary commemoration was "lighter and hopeful. Last year was like a low-budget funeral."
For three years, starting in 2017, Paisley staged a multi-day "Celebration" — featuring panel discussions, concert movies and live performances — in conjunction with the anniversary of the Minnesota icon's death. (Celebration 2022 will take place June 2-5 at Paisley, timed to Prince's June 7 birthday.)
While her husband had attended some of Celebrations, Argelia Garcia of San Angelo, Texas, did not. She was thrilled to be at Paisley on Thursday. "It was a great tribute to Prince," she said, clutching a white rose she received from Warfield.
Kamie Keck of Richmond, Virginia, who had glyph earrings, T-shirt and tattoo on her finger, arrived from Richmond thanks to money raised by other Prince fans.
"I love Prince. Period," she said as she partied to Warfield, whom she's seen perform on the East Coast. "The Purple family has a heart just like him."
Bridget Depew of Richmond, California, said Prince had this way — alive and gone — of bringing people together. "We came [to Paisley] each time because it's such loving and spiritual people," she said. "I love the humanity of it. Being in his house, his spirit is here. Seeing Liv is like having part of him transcend into us."
The event was a fundraiser for Northside Achievement Zone, an organization trying to close the achievement gap and stem generational poverty in North Minneapolis.
President Nelson, Prince's nephew and the family member perhaps most active in the Estate, put the celebrative evening in perspective, especially after last year's somber remembrance.
"If this place [Paisley] was dark and dusty," he said, "I'd be home crying. Tonight was fantastic."
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