After a three-year break, the city of Atlanta is bringing the Peach Drop back to Underground Atlanta on New Year’s Eve with musical acts Goodie Mob and Ashanti as headliners.
Atlanta-based hip-hop act Goodie Mob has been around for 30 years with three top 10 rap hits in the late 1990s: “Cell Therapy,” “Soul Food” and “Dirty South.” The four-member group consists of Big Gipp, Khujo, T-Mo and CeeLo Green. Green had crossover pop hits with Gnarls Barkley (”Crazy”) and on his own (”Forget You”).
Ashanti, an actress and singer from New York, had huge hits in the early 2000s including “Foolish,” “Always on Time” (with Ja Rule), “What’s Luv?” (with Fat Joe) and “Into You” (with Fabolous).
Atlanta’s Blanco Brown, who had a No. 1 country hit with “The Git Up” in 2019, will also perform.
Majic 107.5/97.5 afternoon host Ryan Cameron will host the concert.
The city cancelled the Peach Drop in 2019, breaking a 30-year tradition. “We’re going to take a break, reevaluate, reexamine the location and how we plan it out,” Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said at the time. “And when it comes back, I promise you it will be bigger and better.”
Last year, due to the pandemic, the Peach Drop was not held at all, but the Atlanta City Council approved funding for the event’s revival last month.
The Peach Drop debuted in 1989 at Underground Atlanta, a local version of the New York City Times Square ball drop. Some years, the event would draw 100,000 or more people.
The 2018 Peach Drop featured two hometown R&B acts Jagged Edge and 112 and 1990s-era alternative rock band Better than Ezra.
Others who have performed include legendary R&B singer Little Richard (2003), country band Lonestar (2007), country singer Miranda Lambert (2008), dancer/singer Julianne Hough (2009), R&B singer Tito Jackson (2011), classic rock band Kansas (2012), Beatles cover band Abbey Road Live! (2013), R&B star Janelle Monae (2014), 1990s pop-rock band Sugar Ray (2015), Atlanta rap legend Ludacris (2015), rock band Sister Hazel (2016) and R&B star Ne-Yo and Atlanta rock band Collective Soul (2017).
Lalani Ventures has owned Underground Atlanta for about a year. The former tourist attraction been struggling and largely empty for years with only a handful of retail operations, the Masquerade music venue and a few pop-up stores. It has also been host to a Banksy art exhibit the past few months.
