INTERVIEW: Kathy Sledge invites everyone into her ‘Family Room’
Photo: Kathy Sledge hosts a new Instagram Live show with her daughter. Photo courtesy of the artist / Provided by Prana Marketing with permission.
During the days of quarantine, when so many families were relegated to spending time at home in their family rooms, Kathy Sledge, the iconic singer of the hit song “We Are Family,” decided to get creative and expand her family’s outpouring of love and their undeniable celebration of music, life and connection. Sledge’s idea, along with her daughter Kristen Gabrielle, was an Instagram Live show called Family Room, and that dream has become a reality.
The singer, who is also the voice of “Thinking of You,” the song that welcomes audience members to DJ D-Nice’s Club Quarantine, was inspired by these historic times to try and build a virtual connection with her fans. To that end, both Sledge and her daughter appear on Family Room twice during the week: Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EST and Saturdays at 12:30 p.m. EST.
“We have a really strong chemistry,” Sledge said about her bond with Gabrielle. “So when the pandemic happened, maybe three weeks [into it], my daughter looked at me and was like … ‘Let’s do it.'”
Sledge, a Grammy nominee known for her solo career and her time with Sister Sledge, said she loves the relationship she has with her daughter, and they have both grown these past few months. Before 2020 they knew what their individual passions were. For Sledge, whose new single is “Jump Into the Light,” her passion has always been music. Now, after enduring the challenges of 2020, and in light of COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement, Sledge is realizing her passion can have a wider purpose — a purpose that reaches out to people around the world.
“We have our passions, but sometimes it takes a lifetime to realize what your purpose is,” she said. “I’m starting to connect the dots. I thought I put the show together just because we had a good chemistry and it’s good marketing, and now I’m realizing it’s much bigger than that. … I think what we’re really finding is a community, and we’re all supporting each other through this pandemic. And we’re all, no pun intended, family. Even though it sounds cliche we really are finding love and comfort in that room, in that virtual room, and it’s bigger than I ever imagined it could be.”
The success of Family Room has been impressive since it launched in spring 2020. For Sledge, she has been “happily surprised” by the number of audience members who tune in twice a week on Instagram Live.
“Family Room is a place that we come to meet and celebrate love and support each other and tell stories and sing songs,” Sledge said. “We have this really cool part of the show called ‘Let Them In,’ like someone’s knocking at the door. … It’s a surprise, and we bring in surprise guests. And a lot of the people that have come in the room are really cool friends, like Nile Rodgers or Sinbad or Questlove. It’s always a surprise. You never know. Deniece Williams actually came in last week. You never know who is going to come in. We’re talking to people like Macy Gray, but at the end of the day, it’s always a surprise. It’s very innovative.”
Sledge added: “It’s very organic. The first word that comes to mind is real. I believe that’s why it’s starting to grow the way that it is. It’s really getting its own legs.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Family Room, featuring Kathy Sledge and Kristen Gabrielle, appears Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EST and Saturdays at 12:30 p.m. EST on Instagram Live. Click here for more information.
