 "Photo: courtesy of Matt Odom")
When asked to describe the music of The Indigo Girls, singer-songwriter Emily Saliers simply says “heart-felt.”
Returning to Asheville Sept. 17, The Indigo Girls are scheduled to perform at The Orange Peel Social Aid and Pleasure Club.
“We’re looking forward to coming back to Asheville,” Saliers said. “We love Asheville. We’ve played there many times before, and it feels like coming home.”
The Indigo Girls consists of long-time musical partners Emily Saliers, 46, and Amy Ray, 45. The pair began their music ventures together during their high-school days in Atlanta, 30 years ago, according to Saliers.
“Amy, her style is little more rock-it’s a little more, for lack of a better word, aggressive. Mine is more sort of pop and groove influenced musically,” Saliers said.
Saliers considers Ray’s background of rural living to be more reflected in her musical style and lyrical content, while Saliers herself admits to pondering more philosophical and relationship questions when composing songs.
“For whatever reason, when we bring our songs to the table, she writes hers and I write mine. We’re able to arrange them together, and that’s what makes them Indigo Girls songs in the end,” Saliers said.
Behind Saliers’ earlier musical influences are Joni Mitchell and Stevie Wonder. Ray’s include more post-punk artists, such as Patti Smith and The Clash.
“We have very, very different influences and sensibilities,” she said. “When we first started out, she held the rhythm down as a very strong strummer. I was more like the acoustic kicker. I have a higher voice and she has a lower voice.”
Performing throughout the years as a duo, as well as with a touring band, The Indigo Girls will deliver the more intimate acoustic experience of songs from the latest album, “Poseidon and the Bitter Bug,” to Asheville fans.
“Our concerts are just kind of joyous experiences because everybody’s really connected to the music,” she said. “So, we hope that that continues – that we’ll be able to focus on the new material, but also play a bunch of songs from our discography and sort of mix it up.”
Grateful to keep fans over such an extensive musical career, Saliers says The Indigo Girls have maintained the “bar band” mentality where fans can associate their own lives with the lyrics.
“We play the old sing-a-long favorites and then we play some obscure ones that we just feel like playing,” Saliers said. “It’s sort of a smattering of songs from our past to our present. We make a new set list every night.”
The Grammy-award winning duo has seen many changes throughout their extensive career in the music industry including fan base and label recognition.
“I would say that when we first started as a bar band we were very much supported by the women’s community, the queer community, and then over the years the audience has expanded to be much more diverse,” Saliers said. “We’ve been around so long now that our first generation of fans has kids and now the kids are coming to the shows, so that’s awesome.”
The Indigo Girls offer fans a new dynamic with “Poseidon and the Bitter Bug.” The album consists of two CDs, one with the acoustic versions of songs, the other with the accompaniment of a band.
“It’s been received very well. The record came out in the spring, and I personally feel that each CD has its own identity,” Saliers noted. “Listening to the songs in their acoustic incarnations is just a completely different experience than listening to them with the band. I think it’s nice for fans to be able to hear both.”
The Indigo Girls worked on “Poseidon and the Bitter Bug” with producer and keyboardist Mitchell Froom, who recorded on the album as well.
“He started working with us on the record before “Poseidon,” and he really shifted us,” Saliers said. “He’s a very good musical arranger, and he brings the best essence out of the songs. He never over-produces, and he’s very choosy about what notes to pick, and everything has its place in the musical spectrum.”
The songs on “Poseidon,” according to Saliers, have a sense of immediacy while also being characteristically unfettered.
“The acoustic CD, that’s basically what the songs sounded like after Amy and I were done arranging them. Then, with the band, the sound is more flushed out,” Saliers said. “I think people like having access to both versions.”
The pair began their own independent label, IG Recordings, on which “Poseidon” was released.
According to Saliers, after the girls were dropped from Hollywood Records, they realized that their own relationships with radio and concert promoters might better serve them.
“We just realized that it was absolutely the time to be independent,” she said of the new label. “We feel very liberated and very grateful for it. You know there are a lot of bands out there now that labels can’t do for them what they could do in a different era.”
Michelle Malone, out with her latest CD, “Debris,” is scheduled as the opening act. Malone will be joining The Indigo Girls on stage for several songs in the set, according to Saliers.
“People shouldn’t miss her. She’s got a new record out that’s great,” Saliers said. “We just really want to make sure people don’t miss Michelle’s set cause she’s killer.”
Tickets for the show at The Orange Peel are $38 advance or $40 at the door. An all ages show, doors open at 7 p.m. and the show begins at 8 p.m.
“The basic approach to music is the same as it ever was. We write our songs, come together, we arrange them and then we just get out there and play,” Saliers said. “It’s super fun, and we have this audience that has just held us up over the years.”
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