Interview: Emily Saliers of Indigo Girls
Dom speaks with Emily about music, activism, and what keeps her hopeful
“My songwriting is the lens through which I observe the world around me,” says Emily Saliers, one half of the Grammy-winning duo Indigo Girls.
Anyone even remotely familiar with their music can understand this statement. For 35 years, Emily and her childhood friend Amy Ray have been performing together as Indigo Girls. Their first full length album Strange Fire, released in 1987 under their own label, caught the attention of Epic Records and, thanks in part to the success of other folky women like Tracy Chapman and Suzanne Vega, led to the release of their acclaimed second self-titled album. That album catapulted Amy and Emily to success, landed them high on the charts, and the Emily-penned song “Closer To Fine” quickly became one of their most successful singles. By the time 1990 rolled around, they won one Grammy award and were nominated for the coveted Best New Artist trophy.
Through all of this success, Amy and Emily never lost who they were as people and, even more astoundingly, as activists. Historically, it’s been quite difficult for artists to garner and maintain mainstream success while using their platform to fight for potentially controversial issues, but Emily says she never really had much of a choice.
“I was a musician first; a person who cared about social issues but was too young to know how to act on my concerns,” Emily explains to me. “I was a musician as a young girl but played my first pro gig at a Democratic fundraiser when I was fourteen. So, I guess that was my official foray into activism.”
Both Emily and Amy, who identify as queer women, have never hidden their identities. Being a woman in the music industry alone has historically been challenging enough, but becoming successful in a time when to be out and proud in entertainment could kill a career meant extra pressure. Still, it never seemed to faze this duo, who now have a lasting legacy of paving the way for countless other queer artists and activists for a number of progressive causes.
“Now, all these years later, I cannot separate my ‘activism’ from my music or from Indigo Girls music, because the world around us completely informs the change we want to be and make,” Emily says. “No concert is more fun than a concert organized to bring people together around a common issue and to create change as a community. So many of our songs are written about things that disturb us, that inspire us, that propel us to act.”
I first met Amy and Emily when I was 15 years old. My band A Fragile Tomorrow had been touring and making our second record, and through a few mutual friends, we were able to meet them after one of their shows. Not long after, they took my brothers and I on tour and had us singing on one of their records. In the 13 years since, we’ve toured and collaborated together a lot, and as was the case before we knew them personally, they have served as inspiration for us in a number of capacities. I credit them with my being an activist today, and probably the reason why my songs and activism go hand in hand is because Amy and Emily showed me that they really are one in the same.
“I have written about the pain and beauty of being queer,” Emily tells me. “I’ve written about witnessing homelessness and how the church has alienated faithful people. My songs talk about politics, the beauty of this life and of the earth, the inspiration of indigenous American friends in my life, the lure of addiction, the pain of alienation, and so on. Almost everything I see around me and think about ends up in a song one way or another. So the songs become the vehicle for expression.”
It doesn’t stop there, however. Amy and Emily not only sing the songs, but they actually walk the walk.
“The heart of our work lies in our relationship with grass roots organizations that are making real change happen with regard to any of the issues,” she admits. “So, just as important as writing about issues is becoming personally involved in them by becoming educated, organizing benefit concerts, and staying informed about and active in the causes that stir our hearts and give us our calling.”
Just like Amy and Emily have influenced both my songwriting and my activism, Emily has a long list of both musician-activists and activists who have inspired her throughout her career.
“Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, John Trudeau, Joan Baez, Ani DiFranco, [and] Michael Franti are only some of the artists that come to mind,” Emily says. “Martin Luther King Jr., John Lewis, Winona LaDuke, Shirley Chisholm, Jimmy Carter, Rosa Parks and my latest activist heroine, Stacey Abrams. Honestly, the list would spill over the pages.”
“Brandi Carlile has her Looking Out Foundation which is fantastic,” she continues. “Miranda Lambert works passionately with dog rescue; Matt Nathanson does a ton of good activist work. So does Justin Vernon. I know there are so many musicians who use their music and influence for good work.”
Right now, the world is literally on fire (in more ways than one). In a time when our country is so deeply divided politically, the planet is rapidly dying right before our eyes, and nationalism and fascism are on the rise, it can be easy to lose hope. Still, Amy and Emily continue to not only write, record, and tour as Indigo Girls, but they continue to walk the walk with their activism.
“We continue to work with Honor the Earth, the organization we started with Winona LaDuke in the early 90’s that works primarily on indigenous environmental issues,” Emily tells me. “We’re in a battle to stop proposed oil pipelines traversing through fragile ecosystems and indigenous land in Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Dakotas. We will have voter advocacy groups tabling at as many of our concerts as possible in 2020. We’re also releasing a new album in March 2020 that we’re excited about. Just keeping on keeping on!”
With the 2020 US election so soon, I wanted to know what other artists could do to have a greater influence. Emily has some suggestions.
“There are excellent voter advocacy groups like Rock the Vote that tour with bands or table at their concerts,” she says. “Bands can list resources for fans to find on their websites. We do this on our IG website so that if someone wants to know about a great voter advocacy group, they can find them listed, learn about them, and get involved with them.”
“Bands can get educated about local issues in the towns and cities where they play shows,” she adds. “If there is pending legislation or local groups that need support, musicians can talk about them from stage or invite local organizers to speak during the music set. It’s all about education on the issues, engagement and encouragement.”
Now more than ever is the time for musicians to be speaking up about the issues they care about. Indigo Girls, nearly four decades into their career, continue to do this through their music, and it’s safe to say that without them, many of the newer artists we love who are making waves socially and politically wouldn’t exist.
Thinking about the profound social impact that artists can have on the world makes me think of a line from Emily’s song “Hammer and A Nail” - lyrics that have inspired me since I was a kid.
“If I have a care in the world, I have a gift to bring.”
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Impact Spotlight:
ABA Immigrant Justice Project
I first got to know the amazing folks at the Immigrant Justice Project, is IJP, this past summer when my wife Catie and I started sponsoring a gay refugee couple from Honduras. The two of them were in ICE detention for nearly 5 months, and IJP got them out of prison. The work that IJP does in San Diego and beyond is amazing, and they’re deeply committed to helping refugees and asylum seekers. Click the image below to find out more about how you can help support IJP.
-Dom
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Find out more about the work Dom and Kat are doing at Sound & Vision Collective by clicking here.