Legendary R&B group Sister Sledge will headline downtown Mobile’s MoonPie Over Mobile celebration on New Year’s Eve, bringing decades of disco-era hits to the crowd gathered to watch the city’s giant lighted MoonPie descend to ring in the new year.
The group is scheduled to perform at 11 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 31, in the heart of downtown Mobile, just ahead of the midnight MoonPie drop that has become one of the region’s signature New Year’s traditions. Sister Sledge is best known for the enduring anthem “We Are Family,” along with other hits such as “Thinking of You” and “Lost in Music,” all released during the group’s rise to fame more than four decades ago.
The performance comes on the heels of a major honor for the group. “We Are Family” was recently inducted into the Library of Congress National Recording Registry, an archive that preserves sound recordings deemed culturally, historically or aesthetically significant. Member Kathy Sledge said the recognition placed the song among an elite class of American works.
“I think adding ‘We Are Family’ to the Library of Congress, more than anything, shows that it has outlived so many things,” Sledge said. “It’s up in there in the Library of Congress next to Martin Luther King’s speech.”
Sledge, who was just 16 years old when she recorded the song, said the track’s staying power still surprises her. She said the group’s music continues to resonate across generations and international audiences, with “Thinking of You” proving especially popular in the United Kingdom.
Sister Sledge has become a fixture on the global New Year’s Eve circuit, performing everything from large public celebrations to private parties for high-profile clients, including an event for Malaysian royalty in London alongside Cyndi Lauper. Sledge said one of her fondest New Year’s memories came in 2015, when the group performed in Dubai alongside music icons Nile Rodgers and Chaka Khan.
Ahead of the Mobile show, Sledge said she was looking forward to bringing her group’s high-energy performance to the city’s celebration for the first time. She promised an explosive set built around the band’s catalog of hits, along with new creative touches the group has been developing.
“This is one of the first shows I’ve done in a long time where I’m getting to be explosive with all the songs we know and love and be creative,” Sledge said. “There’s going to be a lot of energy and a lot of fun and a lot of hits, and don’t be surprised if you end up on stage with me.”
Beyond the New Year’s Eve performance schedule, Sledge said she has stayed busy with a range of projects, including a recently signed movie deal chronicling the backstory of “Lost in Music” and “We Are Family.” She has also been writing new music with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, known for their work with Janet Jackson, Prince and Mariah Carey, as well as with the European production duo Horse Meat Disco.
MoonPie Over Mobile draws large crowds to the downtown area each Dec. 31 for live entertainment, food and the ceremonial lowering of a giant electrified MoonPie, a nod to the city’s Mardi Gras tradition of tossing the moon-shaped treats from parade floats. Organizers have built the event into one of Mobile’s most popular annual gatherings, drawing families and revelers from across the Gulf Coast for a free, family-friendly send-off to the new year.