A sea of purple descends upon City Hall for an epic live concert tribute

Los Angeles City Hall was awash in shades of purple the evening of May 6 when the city held a Memorial Tribute to Prince Rogers Nelson honoring the iconic artist’s legacy in music and philanthropy.

Thousands of fans wearing Prince’s signature color descended upon the grassy lawn in front of the City Hall steps to celebrate the artist, who died on April 21 at his Paisley Park estate in Minnesota.

AFM Local 47 was proud to co-sponsor the free public event, hosted by the offices of Mayor Eric Garcetti, Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Councilmember Jose Huizar and Councilmember Curren D. Price Jr. Additional sponsors included 102.3 Radio-Free KJLH, SAG-AFTRA, Grand Park, FUSICOLOGY, SOULNIC, Najee Ali and Project MuszEd.

“Our very own City Hall was the prime location for the ‘Diamonds and Pearls’ video,” Mayor Garcetti released in a statement. “The City of Los Angeles is proud to have been the home away from home for a tremendous talent that touched our city. We look forward to celebrating his contributions to music, Los Angeles, and the world.”

Performers included Faith Evans, Eric Benet, Aloe Blacc, Sebu Simonian, BJ the Chicago Kid, B Slade, Dietrick Haddon, Timotha Lanae, Marva King, and DJs Vikter Duplaix, Adam 12 and R-Tistic. The celebration concluded with a rousing rendition of “Purple Rain,” with the legendary Stevie Wonder leading the vocals with Aloe Blacc supporting. The immortal anthem rolled across the crowd, with everyone singing along with all of the night’s performers who joined together onstage in a touching final tribute to Prince.

All photos by Linda A. Rapka

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