As Nairobi turns purple and the Jacarandas are in full bloom, we are excited to announce a once-in-a-lifetime musical celebration with Morris Hayes, Musical Director and keyboardist for Prince. Mr Hayes has journeyed to Nairobi to play two exclusive shows at Alloy marking the 40th Anniversary of Prince’s iconic Album and Film Purple Rain.
Joining Morris on stage is NBC The Voice star Dreion, who will perform an unforgettable set of Prince’s greatest hits. Kenya’s own Polycarp Otieno, aka Fancy Fingers, will open the event, adding his unique flair to kick off this extraordinary night.The performance will be held on November 16th at Alloy, located on the 6th floor of Sarit Centre.
About Morris Hayes
Morris Hayes is Morris Hayes was the legendary Prince’s keyboard player for more than 20 years – his musical director for much of that time. The longest serving member of New Power Generation. But the pair were close friends too, and shared great times on and off stage in many countries around the world.
At the age of 28 in 1988, Morris Hayes moved to Minneapolis. While playing in Memphis Morris’ band Fingerprint was discovered by Prince’s entourage. This led to Morris being selected to audition for Mazarati, a Minneapolis-based band, and from that led Morris being in Prince’s orbit and eventually being noticed by Prince and becoming Music Director and keyboardist for Prince’s legendary band the New Power Generation.
Morris played with the NPG for 20 years and is the longest tenured member of any of Prince’s bandmates.
During his time with the NPG played these iconic shows:
1993 Wembley Stadium Show
2007 Super Bowl which remains the highest rated Super Bowl ever.
2007, 8 month residency in Las Vegas
21 Nights at the O2 in London
About Purple Rain
Purple Rain is the sixth studio album by the American singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Prince. It was released on June 25, 1984, by Warner Bros. Records as the soundtrack album to the 1984 film of the same name. Purple Rain became Prince’s first album to reach number one on the Billboard 200. The album spent 24 consecutive weeks atop the Billboard 200 and was present on the chart for a total of 167 weeks. “When Doves Cry” and “Let’s Go Crazy” reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, while “Purple Rain” peaked at number two and “I Would Die 4 U” peaked at number eight. In May 1996, the album was certified 13× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It is Prince’s commercial peak, with total sales standing at 25 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time. Prince and the Revolution won Grammy Awards for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media, while Prince also won the Academy Award for Best Original Song Score for the film Purple Rain.
About Fancy Fingers / Polycarp
Polycarp Otieno also known as Mr Fancy Fingers has been the lead guitarist for Sauti Sol Most people just know him as the guy who plays the guitar for them but there is more to him that we don’t know.Polycarp Otieno studied at Strathmore School where he did his high school and then went on to Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology to do Actuarial Science.He decided to pursue his love for music after completing his degree.
He joined the Sauti Sol group in 2005 after they met at Alliance Francaise.He has been the man behind the strings and laying some of the tunes groundwork for the group. Polycarp is married to Lady Mandy who is a fashion stylist and has been able to dress the group for some events and produced some of their songs.
About Dreion
https://www.nbc.com/nbc-insider/watch-dreion-blind-audition-on-the-voice-season-26
DREION is an electrifying singer-songwriter, musician, producer, and performing artist from Omaha, Nebraska. He is a seasoned performer who has had the privilege of opening for and collaborating with iconic artists such as Earth, Wind & Fire, Musiq Soulchild, Lalah Hathaway, Bootsy Collins, and J. Ivy to name a few! He is an esteemed alumnus of Berklee College of Music with a Bachelor’s Degree in Songwriting minoring in Africana Studies who balances his career and performing life while also being a proud husband and father.
You know you’re acing your Blind Audition on The Voice when the Coaches roll out the power of bling just to woo you over to their team. And that’s just the reception that singer[1]songwriter DREION received after finishing his funky cover of Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Shining Star” on a seriously searing falsetto note.
All four Coaches turned for DREION’s awesome, stage-ready mix of confident dance moves and pitch perfect vocals. And all four were also happily on their feet by the end of DREION’s soulful set, each applauding (along with the audience) for the Artist.
“We are honoured to be presenting Morris Hayes in Nairobi, not just because of his enormous musical stature but also in the context of celebrating 40 years of Prince’s seminal Purple Rain album and film. This is a chance for Nairobi to enjoy a world-class performance that any city would love to host.”
Don’t miss out as #NairobiTurnsPurple
Ticket tiers are Early bird at 6,000 KES, and normal release at 7500 KES. A limited number of VIP experience tickets and corporate tables are available on request (nairobiturnspurple@gmail.com).
Performance Details:
Alloy, 6th Floor, Sarit Centre, Westlands, Nairobi
Friday 15th November & Saturday 16th November, beginning at 7pm sharp
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