“We played out first full orchestral concert in Chattanooga. But when it came to playing live with an orchestra, it was nerve-wracking.” “It was really fun to work on the arrangements and I was like a kid in a candy store. “I was extremely nervous because it felt like it was way above my skill set!” Ray recalled. It’s been 22 years since the Indigo Girls opened a stadium show for the Dead, but it made a lasting impression on the duo. Music Indigo Girls thank the Grateful Dead But the duo’s initial orchestral forays were the cause of great anxiety. Such collaborations are now almost second nature for the Indigo Girls, whose early career saw the band opening shows for R.E.M., Neil Young and the Grateful Dead. Ray and Saliers’ concert here Sunday with the San Diego Symphony comes 20 years after the two first performed with the Atlanta Ballet and an orchestra - and nine years after their first orchestral tour in 2012. The Georgia-bred duo released its 16th studio album last year, the lovingly crafted “Look Long.” It follows their ambitious 2018 double-album, “Live with the University of Colorado Symphony Orchestra.” The majority of our audience is pretty progressive and will wear masks and be vaccinated, so we’re not in a foreign environment at our concerts.” New orchestral vistas But I still have hope we’re moving beyond that. Although, in ways it’s so frustrating and you feel paralyzed, like: ‘How can we be so opposite in our thinking?’ The pandemic just made (that divide) even greater. But there are places where we can work together. It doesn’t change my perspective, and probably doesn’t change theirs either. So, I just try to be open-minded, hear what they have to say and not alienate people. It’s Trump country and they are my neighbors. “I’m living in a rural town that’s very conservative. “We feel,” Ray added, “that it’s important to connect with people who don’t share our views - but like our music - to break down boundaries. “Our resources have expanded over the years, but the spirit behind our music hasn’t changed.” “In terms of how we write and arrange music, how we think about it and how we play together, not a single thing has changed,” Saliers said. So is their devotion to a variety of social causes and their championing of inclusiveness, in their songs and personal actions.īoth still marvel that a duo co-led by two proudly left-leaning lesbians was signed by a major record label in the 1980s, then went on to make several million-selling albums and earn mainstream success. Ray and Saliers’ hand-in-glove vocal harmonies are a trademark. The arc of their music between the 1980s and now has seen the group create a diverse body of work that expertly draws from folk, rock, country, blues, jazz, Celtic and more. And we have strict protocols for our shows, including vaccinations and masking (for attendees).” Sweet harmonyĭespite the recent health setbacks, the harmonious bond between the Indigo Girls’ two co-founders remains as strong and resilient as ever. We’re doing rapid tests every day and PCR tests every third day. So, our road crew is among the most stringently tested people I know of. “Subsequently, we had a couple of other people on our team test positive. “I got COVID and had to quarantine for two weeks,” Saliers said. Other dates were canceled, a costly blow for any music act that had been unable to tour for more than a year because of the pandemic. Her illness led to a number of postponed and canceled concerts, which the Indigo Girls announced online without specifying who had contracted the potentialy fatal disease.Ĭiting “an abundance of caution and concern for the safety of the band, crew and most importantly our fans,” Saliers and Ray postponed some late August and early September concerts. Saliers, speaking in a separate phone interview, disclosed that she was diagnosed with COVID-19 after attending a writer’s workshop in August. I love driving, but it’s hard to drive the whole tour.” I’m vaccinated but I worry about spreading it to other people, plus I’ve got a child. We’ve lost seven or eight concerts (because of Saliers getting COVID) - and, when you cancel - it’s hard to reschedule. “But I decided I’d drive separately because we can’t afford to lose any more gigs now.
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