With 40 years of making music as the iconic folk-rock band Indigo Girls, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers have also made their mark as dedicated activists, feminists, and out lesbians. Ever since “Closer to Fine” in 1989, the Indigo Girls have been on queer women’s playlists, as well as in Deneuve and Curve regularly.
By Dave Steinfeld
Thirty-five years into their career, the Indigo Girls are (as they say) having a moment. The irony is that they haven’t released a new album since Look Long in 2020! And yet, their profile has risen recently – particularly in the past year. Part of that, no doubt, was having their signature song “Closer to Fine” used in last year’s blockbuster film Barbie. But it’s not just that. The Girls have also been involved in several other projects as of late. Their music was also used in the Tom Gustafson film Glitter & Doom, which stars Lea DeLaria, Kate Pierson, and even the Girls themselves. They are planning two separate tours later this summer: one with fellow lesbian icon Melissa Etheridge (that kicks off August 11th in Highland Park, Illinois) and another with Amos Lee. Emily is working on a musical that she hopes will come to Broadway, while Amy added another chapter to her lengthy solo career in 2022 with the kickass Americana album If It All Goes South.
But the crown jewel in the Indigo Girls’ recent list of projects has to be It’s Only Life After All, a documentary about the duo directed by Alexandria Bombach, which will be released on streaming services later this year. I watched it once and was moved to tears within the first 10 minutes. It’s Only Life takes a warts-and-all look at the Girls’ career: their music, their activism, their family life, their origins in the Georgia music scene, their struggles – separately and together – and their triumphs. It’s a beautiful film and a must for any Indigo Girls fan.
Before they started playing music together, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers were childhood friends: Ray was a native Georgian, while Saliers was originally from Connecticut. They met when Emily was in sixth grade and Amy was in fifth- and it took them a while to become friends. But when they did, they stayed friends. Initially, they went to different colleges before both transferring to Emory College. By now, it was the ’80s and there was a fertile music scene in the Athens, Georgia area thanks to REM, the B-52’s and other bands. The Girls began performing together at a club called Little Five Points. I tell Amy that, from the footage in It’s Only Life, it seemed like a magical venue.