John Shearer / Invision / AP
In this Feb. 8, 2015, file photo, Prince presents the award for album of the year at the 57th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. Beyond dance parties and hit songs, Prince’s legacy included black activism. He said black lives matter before presenting a 2015 Grammy.
Tuesday, May 17, 2016 | 2:02 p.m.
The Kats Report Bureau at this writing is Beach Cafe at Tropicana Las Vegas on Monday night. The news out of this building tonight is the announcement of a new restaurant fronted by the hotel and Food Network “Restaurant: Impossible” host Robert Irvine.
The new eatery brings needed animation and celebrity boost — if you happen to be a fan of the Food Network — to this resort. The other food news, from my perch, is Beach Cafe is no longer open 24/7. Closes at 11 p.m., effective about two weeks ago. I bemoan the fact that good all-hours restaurants in Las Vegas hotel-casinos are ebbing away.
More on Irvine, and my weird eating schedule, in a future post. Right now, I am happily sipping on a fizzy water as I swap texts with my friend Michelle Johnson (Las Vegas’ First Lady of Jazz, according to my sources) while watching the Warriors and Thunder parry in the NBA Playoffs.
It’s fitting that Steve Kerr is shown on the screen, as Johnson is friends with the Golden State head coach. The two met while they were teenagers studying in Egypt, and Johnson was the manager of a hoops team on which Kerr was a star guard.
As it turns out, Johnson is currently one of the outstanding vocalists in Las Vegas and with great velocity has constructed a Prince tribute show at Cabaret Jazz in the Smith Center. Titled “Forever Purple,” the show is June 7, what would have been the artist’s 58th birthday, and the lineup is so stacked with Las Vegas talent that tickets are already about half sold out with negligible promotion (prices are $25 and $40 and available at TheSmithCenter.com).
“I started brainstorming that night (April 21, the date of Prince’s death), and I specifically asked people who I knew had a deep passion for his music. Prince was rock and roll, R&B, soul, jazz, rap, disco, classical,” Johnson says. “He was something to every music fan. Just a genius. In the end, this show is not about the names on the bill, it is about the legacy of Prince’s music. We just want to say thank you. I still can’t believe he is gone.”
For those involved, get ready for some serious listing action here: Set to perform are Frankie Scinta and Janien Valentine of The Scintas, Chris Lash of “Baz” (there’s a little scooper for ya, as Lash has joined that production as music director), Desert Angels Choir, Rockie Brown of The Rockie Brown Band, Skye Dee Miles of Rose. Rabbit. Lie., Tony Davich of Phoenix and Santa Fe and The Fat City Horns, Lorena Peril of “Fantasy,” Savannah Smith of “Vegas! The Show” and The Moonshiners, Sandy Wyatt of “Hitzville the Show,” Stephanie Calvert of “Raiding the Rock Vault,” Jennifer Romas of “Sexxy,” Bruce Williamson of Sons of Soul, Jon Celentano of The Moonshiners, Patty Janura of The Patty Janura Band, Tyriq Johnson of Santa Fe, Jassen Allen of “Mondays Dark” and multiple appearances at Tuscany Suites, Toscha Comeaux of the since-closed "Viva Elvis," Eric Sean and Naomi Mauro of David Perrico’s Pop Strings, Fletch (Erskine) Walcott of “American Idol,” Bucky Heard of The Righteous Brothers, Sean and John Scott of "Absinthe," and — last but never least — Sonny Turner of The Platters.
The band is Reggie Johnson of Boyz II Men on keys, Jamie Hosmer of Santa Fe on synth, Walter Jones of The Stylistics and O’Jays on bass, John Wedemeyer of The Righteous Brothers and Clint Holmes’ band on guitar, Johnny Johnson of Boyz II Men on guitar, Earl Campbell of Sheena Easton’s band on drums, Darryl Borges of The Bee Gees Gold and Opportunity Village’s music program on percussion, along with various horn players from Santa Fe.
How Johnson managed to wrangle this crew is simple, but not easy: She put out the word April 21, the day of Prince’s death, and waited for the tide of performers to roll in. She would love to see some healthy sponsorship support to help fund the production, and she feels that will happen — as do I.
Otherwise, she says, “I’m doing it all on faith.” It’s a good place to start.
Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow Kats on Instagram at Instagram.com/JohnnyKats1.
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