And on the third and final day of the HitNRun International Dance Party at Paisley Park in Chanhassen on Sunday, Prince was a no-show.
Nowhere to be seen. Well, at least he was heard. At about 11:45 p.m., Joshua Welton, coproducer of Prince's new album "HitNRun," took the stage in the soundstage with members of 3rdEyeGirl. He then introduced the new album, which he said had been streaming 45 minutes earlier on the East Coast via Tidal. So it was time for its Twin Cities debut.
The 11-song, 38-minute album was played over the Paisley Park sound system, which is way better than anything you have at home. Paisley-goers paid $40 for the privilege of this preview.
The evening's festivities also included $20 tours of Paisley Park's recording studios and live performances by Alex Rossi, a Twin Cities musician, and, for the second consecutive night, Liv Warfield and Blackbird. Unlike Saturday, when Prince sat in with Warfield's band for 90 seconds, he didn't crash her stage.
