Prince Celebration 2023 Reaction (w/ Jason of Press Rewind Podcast)

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go to the Prince Celebration in 2023, but my friend Jason came by to tell me ALL about his weekend. It was filled with lots of up and downs, and Prince exclusive you just can't get anywhere else. Let's do this!
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[@lauratiebert3146]

Great overview - Jason was spot on. It was fun reliving Celebration through you. I was also on Pearl VIP. The recovery and reentry to work and everyday life have been a little rough - that’s how I know I had a wonderful time.

[@dorothyedwards7225]

Oh awesome Violet Reality and DeAngela!!💜💜💜⭐⭐

[@Symbolsm]

In regard, I thank you, this was great.

[@dorothyedwards7225]

When Dead on It, from the Black album, was leaked and listened to, Prince did not forward any feedback and there was no social media. So you only got one perspective.

[@m.sharon]

I went to Celebration back in 2018 and I went VIP when there really wasn't that much of a difference between VIP and GA. Its good to hear that they have improved the VIP experience, but I feel bad that GA now seems a little lean. I also would not have been psyched for the timing of 10am starts on Fri. or Sat, and with the 2pm concert with Shelby J. cause she should always be a part of the Sat. night lineup like she was back in 2018 when she, Adrian and Kip blew the roof off of PP. I really wish they could be there every year. Anyway, couldn't make it this year but I am also saving for next year! 💜✌

[@kms1984]

I did GA Pearl and while there were differences from GA, I wouldn’t say it was lean, just different. I think it’s a good idea to give people different options to still be a part of Celebration if VIP is not affordable for some.

[@Symbolsm]

🧣 Best thing I heard is Peals VIP we're sitting around.... For 2 hours, Paisley Park waiting for Diamonds VIP listening to great music.😂

[@carriebernhardt3989]

I had FOMO. 1st Celebration I missed. Great recap. I like the discussion about involving folks like Stokely and discovering artist we might not on our own. I was vaguely familiar with Mint Condition, but didn't really dive in to Stokely until he started fronting with the Revolution then I became a Stokely fan and bought all his music and have seen him solo 2 times.

[@PrincesFriend]

💜🙏🏽

[@PressRewindPrinceLyricsPodcast]

I felt like that fit in with Prince’s philosophy of putting unknown artists on.

[@dorothyedwards7225]

Awweee Rosie🌹🌹🌹❤💜💟

[@smh93]

I have a lot to add - and some things that I can't put in the comments that I might text you about... 😅 First of all, Jason, it was a pleasure meeting you at lunch one of those days! This was the first year that I truly felt ready to go back to Paisley since Prince left, so it was kind of a big deal that I decided to go. The energy is just so different without Prince there - although, he would also sometimes have artists perform at parties that got swallowed up by the stage. Lol. The Act II tour footage was incredible quality. You could see the bobby pins in Prince's hair!! That alone made me really excited about the material they have in the vault. And I'm not a big fan of the hits, and that show didn't really register as one that was full of hits. Although, they did have a medley of hits, but also included b-sides like Irresistible Bitch. Ray and Juell catered the meals for VIP, so of course they were phenomenal. And I'm so glad they are still involved in these events. I remember meeting their daughter at Paisley when she was just an infant, so it was really nice to chat with Juell, and it kind of blew my mind that their daughter I think she said was starting junior high! For the 7 panel, they focused a lot on numerology and what that number meant to Prince. Which would be fine except the panelists didn't even know what the panel was going to be about the day before, and a few of them didn't really have anything to add. LaToya actually had a lot of great stuff to contribute because she was in high school hanging around Paisley when Rosie was working with Prince. I do wish that they would have prepared better questions because it seemed like a missed opportunity to get some really good stories out of them. I'm not sure if Jason and I were in the same sub-group in the Love 2 the 9's session in Studio A, but in the one I was in, we got to hear a lot of great stories from Levi. I loved that because I feel like Levi is a bit of a loner in those public settings and tends to hang back a bit, but I know he has a lot of great stories to contribute. So that was nice that he was feeling talkative during our session and the other band members gave him space to speak. We also got a hilarious story from Tommy about receiving only half of his normal paycheck. And when he asked Prince about it, P said that Tommy was only playing with one hand during the last show, and he pays for two hands. 🤣 I also really loved the hip-hop panel. (Sorry, this is all over the place.) Prince's hip hop music is some of my favorite, so it was definitely a treat to hear Doug E. do the Push It Up rap. However, the dance party that night with D-Nice didn't play a single hip hop song by Prince. They were talking all night about how much Prince loved hip hop, but didn't play any of those songs. Which I may have just let that go, BUT they also kept playing hits and calling them deep cuts. Like....D-Nice literally played When Doves Cry, and Doug E. said, "woah, I didn't know you were gonna go THAT deep!" The music was also incredibly loud for that party. I'm lucky that I'm hard of hearing, so I was able to just turn my hearing aids off, but I can't even imagine how much damage that did to other folks' ears. I will say, I love that D-Nice played The Wobble because there aren't too many things that make it feel like Paisley used to when P was here, and dancing to The Wobble in that space definitely made it feel like coming home. Also, regarding the hip hop panel. I really loved hearing Tony speak about his experience with P. Because he talked about how Prince fans made comments like, "Why is this dude rapping with Prince?" And the hip hop community that really loved Tony's rapping style made comments like, "Why is this dude rapping with Prince?" So it was really interesting to hear that nobody really understood that pairing, but for completely opposite reasons. And Tony said that when he brought up his hesitation to Prince and said that his fans weren't going to like what he contributed in that way, Prince literally just said he didn't care what people thought because they had a vision that he believed in. The following night, DJ Rashida definitely played more of Prince's music. And it was a 3121-themed party, so she played some great stuff from that album - including The Dance!!!! And they had a similar thing going that night, but with Shelby J. up there hyping everything up. And she pulled folks on stage to dance, which also reminded me a lot of the Paisley I knew. I hadn't danced on that stage since January 2016, so that was definitely a highlight. And on the first day when we were waiting around for the shuttles during that excruciatingly long tour block, a few of us got pulled into the soundstage to watch Shelby rehearse with her band (which is why they showed the Parade footage in the L4OA room and not the soundstage). I really loved Sounds of Blackness and Stokley's sets as well, even though we were tired af that morning. Alena and I had stopped at a Target on the way to Paisley at like 9am that morning dressed like rockstars, and got a lot of sideways looks from people in the store. 🤣 The highlight for me that day though was during Stokley's performance of Cool, they played the second chorus of the compilation video I posted for that song on P's birthday that year on the big projector screen in the soundstage. I made that video for exactly that purpose, so I knew it was coming, but it was still a sort of surreal moment. The gospel brunch was fantastic too. I was really looking forward to seeing The Steeles, so that was sort of a bummer. But Known MPLS was incredible. I was sitting at the back of the room at a table with Kim, Casey, KaNisa, Alena, and Jeremiah, and I literally had a meltdown towards the end of that event. It was nice to be surrounded by friends and not at a table with strangers, but it was still a little embarrassing and completely uncontrollable. Lol. The first time I met Prince when I was 12, he was introduced to me as Brother Nelson, and that's the first version of him that I really got to know during the 10 years that I was fortunate to know him before he passed. And that brunch was the first time I felt like Brother Nelson was being honored and not just Prince. So my group of folks sat with me at our table for like an hour after the event ended and everyone cleared out while I regained composure. Lol. And then Kim, Casey, Alena, and I actually utilized the 4 hour block of time that was set aside for GA to wander around the museum to spend some time over there. And we were basically the only ones still in there. We must have stood in Prince's office swapping stories for at least an hour. And that isolated, slow decompression from all the events that week was a really lovely way to end our last day of Celebration. That may have been my favorite part of the entire week, honestly. I hadn't really talked with Kim and Casey much before then, aside from interacting on Twitter when P was here. But Kim, being a true Pisces, came over to sit by me and talk to me while I was having a meltdown during the brunch, and she's like one of my best friends now. I have some other details to share with you, Eloy, but not in a public comment section. 🤣🤣

[@dorothyedwards7225]

I was wondering about the discussion regarding the number 7 and all relativeness, connectedness, and significance. Curious.

[@kasperkapteijn6585]

Thank you gentlemen!

[@PrincesFriend]

You’re very welcome :)

[@dianerouse1925]

Great recap. Loved this interview, I enjoy this.

[@PressRewindPrinceLyricsPodcast]

Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed the discussion.

[@zakiasimpson8928]

Enjoyable recap, very informative!

[@PressRewindPrinceLyricsPodcast]

Eloy allowed me to get deep into the details. 😂

[@dorothyedwards7225]

If I had the means I would have gone specifically because of the hip hop representatives, Doug E Fresh, Chuck D, R&B Queen Chaka💓💟❣💝🤎🖤

[@kappa99]

Prince's Friend (this is Rodney) we met backstage during Celebration with Wally.

[@PrincesFriend]

Oh crap! That’s right?!?!? Man, if my wife isn’t around to remind me of things memories just slip out of my ears.

[@ROCKNROLLFAN]

So Chuck D didn't show up at the Celebration? I've been listening to some Public Enemy and I'm glad that they got inducted into the rock n roll hall of fame. They stood for a lot and they really had something to say on their albums.

[@PrincesFriend]

He was there

[@michaeljackson6613]

Its phonogenics 101. Finally remembered it.

[@treydonan]

Great Review, if I had the means would have gone. Just curious I thought it was all about D&P so it sounded like it was all over the place with the unreleased songs and concerts. Not mad at the choices they made.💜

[@kennycrockett8202]

Wish I went but would have to v.i.p.

[@PrincesFriend]

Same

[@dorothyedwards7225]

💜🥳🤓👍👍

[@PrincesFriend]

WATCH NEXT: Prince Reviews, Slave Era, and Purple Pantone (Friend-Off Game Show Episode 5) kzbin.info/www/bejne/gKuvkmSQm5Zsqqs

[@Perni-pv4ym]

Spider-Man or Batman

[@kimchi_b]

I'm not a 'superfan' but would love to visit PP and share a Prince event with others where all the magic happened. For someone like me, who would be flying in from another continent, I think (maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'd love it?) I'd be very disappointed with less Prince stuff than the VIP package! I would love to hear a review of the GA, ideally both a really positive one and a critical one. If the critical one is (hopefully) not too bad then it could still be on the cards for me in the future :)

[@PrincesFriend]

Ive had the chance to meet some amazing overseas friends at celebration. If the perfect kind of event to take the leap and cross the pond. But yeah, I’ll hunt for some GA feedback.

[@kimchi_b]

@@PrincesFriend Thank you, that would be fantastic! I've no doubt from the gigs I went to in London that the hardcore fans are the best and nicest in the entire world (and I've been to a LOT of gigs!) so it'd still be fantastic, and a trip of a lifetime to see First Avenue etc, I'd make a week of it! It'd just be nice to know I didn't miss out on key/the best stuff if I could 'only' get GA and for me that sounds like the NPG and the ten unreleased tracks. It seems very underwhelming compared to last year but happy to be corrected!

[@KiantraHall-fm2nx]

Hi there I just wanted to know if you had any updates on the prince documentary coming out this year 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

[@classactsexpertiseandinspi4815]

Just heard in the past hour that Sinead O Connor has just passed away in Ireland at the age of 56. I know Prince fans have judged her harshly for her account of a hostile meeting between herself and Prince in 1990. But she was incapable of lying to anyone even when it might have offered her some protection in the past. She has suffered at the hands of the recording industry and the Catholic Church for much of her career until vindicated in the early 2000's. She has a new album ready for release despite serious surgeries, sensitive mental health and the crippling loss of her eldest son to suicide a few months ago. Intergenerational trauma takes another sensitive artist. Please ask your followers to check out her pre Prince Grammy award winning album - The Lion and the Cobra, and her last 2-3 albums. Whatever they think of Sinead, she endured unimaginable suffering and elevated one of Princes most beautiful songs with her own artistry and emotion. Even Prince came to realise that. God rest them both, and pray for the consolation of her children and other loved ones, like Prince- she did her best to stay.

[@kms1984]

I think it would have been informative to have someone who did the GA experience to give their experience as well.

[@PrincesFriend]

I’ll see if I can find someone

[@kms1984]

@@PrincesFriend I did!

[@PrincesFriend]

DM me and we can talk

[@kms1984]

I sent you a dm on fb

[@debliedel]

Yes, I herd P make that statement about Rap!

[@PrincesFriend]

Yup, but idk it wasn’t serious

[@nateifitsaboy]

tbh I'm kinda glad I skipped this one. Not enough music directly related to Prince for my liking. Looking forward to spending those savings on Sheila's Hollywood star event and Princess at the old Glam Slam West.

[@michaeljackson6613]

Omg you guys. Someone please tell me the name of the channel that reviewed prince, madonna and Fleetwood mac albums. It starts with a p and prince's friend was on one of their episodes and that's how I found out about them. It's 1 guy and his friends. Plz help lol

[@michaeljackson6613]

Not prince's podcast

[@Symbolsm]

Really get better... Yh I hope so, and thank, so the only problem is its gonna cause you 2000 dollars to find out if they got better.

[@treyboldon1999]

Hi prince's friend,can you do Michael Jackson's invincible album review video next if you can please🙏

[@kms1984]

The museum experience was not the same as the actual tours that you pay for.

[@jonylawson73]

For the hippest artist he has some painfully unhip fans 😊 no offense lads

[@PrincesFriend]

Sounds kind of offensive 😂 but that’s cool. I guess not everyone can be as hip as you, huh?

[@dorothyedwards7225]

Yeah, well, if you're not from NY and not into the hip-hop scene, people (like Prince, no offense), and who was not in that age range at the time it came out, are not gonna understand or like it. 🤎🖤❤💜