CELEBRATION 2017 Kicks Off At Prince's Paisley Park Honoring His Life And Legacy

Prince's Paisley Park in Chanhassen, Minnesota started Celebration 2017 today with exciting speakers and performers participating in the four days of activities. All events are being held at Prince's historic recording sanctuary outside Minneapolis, honoring the life and legacy of the music icon Prince Rogers Nelson.

Fans from around the world arrived to enjoy four days of live music, panel discussions and special presentations highlighting Prince's tremendous talent, influence and importance as a composer, musician, producer, live performer and filmmaker. The list of special guests includes close creative collaborators and friends spanning five decades in Prince's life - from his childhood in North Minneapolis through to his stratospheric success.

Celebration 2017 is making history by bringing to Paisley Park musicians crossing all four decades of Prince's performing career, from Morris Day and The Time, The Revolution, New Power Generation and 3RDEYEGIRL.

Highlights today included a panel discussion with New Power Generation (NPG) focusing on their years with Prince 1989-2000 and a surprise performance by George Clinton Parliament Funkadelic, who revolutionized R&B during the '70s, twisting soul music into funk. He was Prince's longtime friend and collaborator who helped kick start his career. He also appeared in Prince's 1990 film Graffiti Bridge.

Friday's programing will feature a panel and performance by The Revolution one of Prince's backup bands who appeared in Oscar winning film Purple Rain, and performed on the best-selling album of the same name.

Highlights on Saturday will include performances by Morris Day and The Time, one of Prince's Minneapolis based backup bands that performed at the 2017 Grammys in the Tribute to Prince. And panels focusing on Prince's personal style, recording sessions and Paisley Park history.

Sunday will showcase 3RDEYEGIRL and NPG along with panel discussions on Prince's early days at the famed Minneapolis music club, First Avenue.

At Paisley Park, Prince constructed and inhabited a creative reality that was wholly unique, allowing him to fluidly develop music and artistic works spontaneously and without limitation. Celebration 2017 reflects the spirit of the inaugural Prince: A Celebration event, hosted by Prince and held at Paisley Park June 7-13th, 2000. In subsequent years, Prince hosted similar immersive fan experiences at Paisley Park, first in 2001 with Prince: A Celebration "The Rainbow Children" and in 2002 with Xenophobia.

While live music and special events take place inside Paisley Park, several Minneapolis-St. Paul area landmarks are scheduled to be bathed in purple light after sundown and include U.S. Bank Stadium, IDS Center, I-35W Bridge, Hennepin County Lowry Avenue Bridge, and Target Field. Fans are also encouraged to wear purple on April 21 and share pictures via social media using#PaisleyPark and #Celebration2017.

???Prince fans can keep up with the latest on Celebration 2017 events by following Paisley Park's official online social platforms that include:

Facebook - www.facebook.com/OfficialPaisleyPark

Instagram - www.instagram.com/officialpaisleypark

Twitter - http://twitter.com/paisleypark

ABOUT PRINCE

Prince sold over 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time. He won seven GRAMMY® Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and an Academy Award® for the film "Purple Rain," all of which are displayed at Paisley Park. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, the first year of his eligibility. Prince was born in Minneapolis and resided in the Minneapolis area throughout his life.

ABOUT PAISLEY PARK
Paisley Park, Prince's private estate and production compound in Chanhassen offers fans of the late music icon the unprecedented opportunity to tour the legendary, 65,000-square-foot complex that served as the center of Prince's creative universe. Operated by P Park Management, guided tours take visitors throughout the extensive main floor of Paisley Park, including recording and mixing studios where Prince recorded, produced and mixed most of his biggest hits, exhibit spaces that chronicle films such as Purple Rain and Graffiti Bridge, Prince's private NPG Music Club, and a massive soundstage and concert hall where Prince rehearsed for concert tours and held exclusive, private events and performances. The tour also features thousands of artifacts from Prince's personal archives, including iconic concert wardrobe, awards, musical instruments and concert memorabilia.

Paisley Park is located at 7801 Audubon Road, Chanhassen, Minnesota, approximately 30 minutes outside of Minneapolis. For more information about Paisley Park, visit OfficialPaisleyPark.com.

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