Atlanta’s Lovesexy Prince dance party celebrates 25 years
On the Thursday before Labor Day, hundreds of Prince fans dressed in ruffled shirts, paisley fabrics, satin pajamas and camisoles in all shades of purple gather in Atlanta to dance deep into the night.
DJ and event organizer Salah Ananse fills the venue with flowers, lace, purple stage lights and fog as Prince music videos and concert footage flicker across large screens. Guests who arrive early in costume can get in free.
One minute, Ananse’s speakers are blasting “When Doves Cry,” “Little Red Corvette” or “Kiss.”
The next, he might dig deeper into Prince’s musical universe with the Time, Vanity 6, The Family and Sheila E.
Soon, everybody is singing and moving to the beat.
This is “Lovesexy: A Journey Through the World of Prince,” the annual dance and costume party Ananse created in 2001 that turns the entertainer’s music, style and imagery into an interactive experience for fans.
On Thursday, the Atlanta institution celebrates its 25th anniversary at Knock Music House. The ticketed event is a career retrospective for the Minneapolis-born entertainer and his associated acts.
“It’s not just you dressing up, putting a (Prince) T-shirt on and you go and listen to it. You go, you dance, sing the words and everybody is involved. It’s not a spectator sport. Lovesexy is something that real Prince heads love,” Ananse said.
For four decades, Prince was a multitalented singer, songwriter, producer, musician and bandleader whose music explored rock, pop, R&B, electronica and funk.
The Grammy and Oscar-winning entertainer was known for wearing a purple trench coat, ruffled shirts and high-heeled boots.
Prince performed his final two concerts in Atlanta at Fox Theatre on April 14, 2016. He died exactly a week later at age 57.
How Lovesexy became an Atlanta Prince tradition
Ananse named the party Lovesexy after Prince’s 1988 album and the concert tour he saw with his mother at the Omni, which once stood on the site of today’s State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
He wanted the party to explore the entertainer’s vast catalog.
“Everyone experienced Prince in a different way, and I want people to feel renewed in their love for the music. I wanted to evoke a feeling more so than anything that shows the love and sexiness of the music,” he said.
For the anniversary, Ananse plans giveaways and a stage where guests can dance.
Lovesexy also kicks off Atlanta Weekender, a five-day series of dance music events celebrating its 15th anniversary Sept. 3-7.
In 2012, Ananse turned Lovesexy into Atlanta Weekender’s kickoff event to financially support festival programming.
“Lovesexy is a party that actually makes money, and we needed to raise funds to do the Weekender. It worked,” he said.
Deep cuts, costumes and community
Kevin “DJ Kemit” Hyman, who’s performed at Lovesexy since 2017, plays Prince rarities, extended dance mixes and album tracks.
“Salah plays peak hours, so I do my best not to play any of the more popular Prince songs,” he said. “Early bird people are true fanatics, and they want to hear it all.”
Kemit also said his song choices are based on costumes that catch his attention.
“It allows me to dig deep musically and make sure I’m presenting people with the best Prince Rogers Nelson experience I can come up with,” Kemit said. “He’s a popular icon, and nobody else can touch his musicality, and it draws more people into the experience.”
Atlanta resident Janet Smith has attended Lovesexy 10 times since 2005. She said she connects with other fans through their accessories.
“When you go, you’re always there looking at other shirts, buttons, purple fingerless gloves, and eras that resonate with different people,” Smith said. “It sets the tone for the rest of the weekend, which is people vibing, hanging out, having a great time in family and community.”
25 years of celebrating Prince in Atlanta
In 2001, Ananse held the first Lovesexy as an all-vinyl party with Chicago-based DJ Matthew “Kwest_On” Cannon at MJQ Concourse.
Taunja Pegues, a Washington, D.C. resident, said the experience was the first of its kind in Atlanta.
“There wasn’t another party like that, that just focused on Prince’s artistry and the atmosphere of having that sexy and mysterious mood when you walk into the room,” said Pegues, who was living in Atlanta at the time. “I don’t do the sexy thing. I come to get into the motion, and it’s been great to be a part of it from day one.”
Over the years, Lovesexy moved among several Atlanta clubs as Ananse searched for spaces large enough to accommodate its growing crowds.
Ananse has also produced Lovesexy in Chicago and hosted a virtual dance party during the coronavirus pandemic.
Songwriter Kipper Jones, a member of Los Angeles-based 1980s funk and R&B band Tease, started attending Lovesexy in 2021.
Jones said Prince’s music inspired him to take risks as a recording artist.
“We get to revisit that period in our lives that was so formative and gave us the confidence to not play it safe,” Jones said. “I certainly found my tribe once I got inside.”
Lovesexy has been at Knock Music House since last year.
As the party has grown, Ananse said finding venues that can accommodate the crowd — and properly handle Prince’s music — has become increasingly important.
“We constantly have to get bigger venues, change some things, be able to accommodate our customers and play the music on a sound system that works,” he said.
After 25 years, Ananse hopes Lovesexy remains both an escape for Prince fans and a place to celebrate the musician’s cultural impact.
“I love the fact that people really enjoy themselves and get their lives just by listening to this music for a whole night and be able to dance to it,” Ananse said. “It’s not only the proper way to celebrate, but the proper way to grieve.”
Lovesexy: A Journey Through the World of Prince. 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 3. Tickets start at $24.28. Knock Music House, 1789 Cheshire Bridge Road, Atlanta. eventbrite.com.