Melissa Weber can\u2019t remember exactly how she discovered \u201cSoul Train,\u201d but on New Orleans TVs, the groove-filled music and dance show<\/a> dedicated to R&B, soul, funk and Black empowerment aired at 11 a.m. Saturdays.<\/p>\n Weber fell in love with the show as a child, and later, when she started performing as DJ Soul Sister,<\/a> she began to specialize in mid-\u201970s to mid-\u201980s R&B, funk, soul, disco and hip-hop \u2014 music matching her favorite era of \u201cSoul Train.\u201d<\/p>\n Dancers at Soul Sister\u2019s Hustle! parties and listeners of her long-running WWOZ show, \u201cSoul Power,\u201d on Saturday nights<\/a> know her vinyl-only, rare groove style. And over the years, Soul Sister has highlighted her love<\/a> for \u201cSoul Train\u201d and its influence during her New Year\u2019s Eve Soul Train events, which marked their 20th edition in 2022 at the Civic Theatre.<\/p>\n \u201cI brought out two of the original \u2018Soul Train\u2019 dancers from Los Angeles to be part of the (2022) event and, you know, they\u2019re in their late-60s, early-70s, and they were partying in the opera box with the then-Booty Patrol dancers, and it was great,\u201d Weber says. \u201cI\u2019m just committed to keeping that \u2018Soul Train\u2019 energy alive, because it was about dancing and having fun.\u201d<\/p>\n Soul Sister returns to the Civic Theatre \u2014 itself a former disco \u2014 for her 21st New Year\u2019s Eve Soul Train party<\/a> at 10 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 31. Soul Sister will spin funk, disco, soul and R&B, and videos from the iconic show will be projected on the ceiling and walls. Soul Sister\u2019s Groove Express Dancers (formerly called Booty Patrol) also will be participating.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a very special party to me,\u201d Weber says.<\/p>\n