Last year in Minneapolis, Erin Karcher celebrated Prince’s memory alongside her friend and former trumpeter for Prince, Lynn Grissett. Now, for the three-year anniversary of Prince’s passing, she’s bringing that celebration to downtown Durham.
The Purple Party: A Prince Celebration will be held April 20 at Arcana, the day before the three-year anniversary of Prince’s passing.
“We just know how much Prince is loved by so many, and what he represents and wanted to give an opportunity for people to come out and celebrate,” Karcher, one of the owners of Arcana, said.
Arcana is a bar and lounge in downtown Durham. According to its website, it is a space for artists, live performances, theater, dance, intimate conversation and unwinding.
“It’s got a neat kind of underground Eastern European sort of bar feel; it’s got a lot of character. I like the owners and the people that go there and they hold interesting and quirky events,” Ursula Quillen, a resident of Chapel Hill, said.
Arcana has done tribute events in the past to David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, Aretha Franklin and other influential musicians.
“Prince’s music is really great, and it stands on its own — regardless of what you think or say about it, when you play a Prince song, you’re guaranteed to have people dancing,” Quillen said.
The event will be featuring the music of sets from DJ VSPRTN, or Ves for short, and Murad.
“Prince was an influencer through all different mediums of art, and his music had so much power and impact,” Ves said.
