Editing Indigo Girls (section)

== Recording and touring ==
=== Early years ===
Amy Ray and Emily Saliers first met and got to know each other as students at [[DeKalb County School District|Laurel Ridge Elementary School]] in [[DeKalb County, Georgia]], just outside [[Decatur, Georgia]],<ref name=AtlMag80>{{cite journal| journal= Atlanta Magazine| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=qOECAAAAMBAJ&q=Laurel+Ridge+Elementary+indigo&pg=PA72| title= From Brenda Lee to Ludacris: A Sonic Portrait of Our City| first= Rebecca | last= Burns| page= 80| date= June 2003|volume= 43| number= 2|issn= 0004-6701| publisher= Emmis Communications| access-date= December 2, 2016}}</ref> but were not close friends because Saliers was a grade older than Ray. While attending Shamrock High School (now [[Druid Hills Middle School]]), they became better acquainted, and started performing together, first as "The B-Band" and then as "Saliers and Ray".<ref name="Larkin"/>

Saliers graduated and began attending [[Tulane University]] in Louisiana. A year later, Ray graduated high school and began attending [[Vanderbilt University]] in Tennessee. Homesick, both returned to Georgia and transferred to [[Emory University]] in Atlanta (where Saliers' father was a professor).<ref name= sketch>{{cite web| title=  Biographical Sketch: Don E. Saliers |url= http://alumni.iws.edu/Saliers_Biographical_Sketch.htm| website=IWS.edu | publisher= The Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies| access-date= December 5, 2016}}</ref> 
[[File:Emory Village.JPG|alt=|thumb|After forming their duo in college, the Indigo Girls played small clubs in the Emory Village district of [[Druid Hills, Georgia]].]]
By 1985, they had begun performing together again, this time as Indigo Girls.<ref name="Larkin"/> Saliers stated in a March 2007 [[National Public Radio]] ''[[Talk of the Nation]]'' interview, "we needed a name and we went through the dictionary looking for words that struck us and [[wikt:indigo|indigo]] was one."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://everything2.com/title/Indigo%2520Girls |title=Indigo Girls |website=Everything2.com |date=August 6, 2001 |access-date=August 17, 2011}}</ref>

Their first release in 1985 was a seven-inch single named "Crazy Game", with the [[A-side and B-side|B-side]] "Everybody's Waiting (for Someone to Come Home)".<ref name="Larkin"/>
That same year, the Indigo Girls released a six-track [[extended play]] album named ''Indigo Girls'', and in 1987 released their first full-length album, ''[[Strange Fire]]'', recorded at [[John Keane (record producer)|John Keane]] Studio in [[Athens, Georgia]], and including "Crazy Game".<ref name="Larkin"/> With this release, they secured the services of Russell Carter, who remains their manager to the present; they had first approached him when the [[Extended play|EP]] album was released, but he told them their songs were "immature" and they were not likely to get a record deal. ''Strange Fire'' apparently changed his opinion.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://badgerherald.com/artsetc/2011/10/06/indigo-girls-latest/|title=Indigo Girls' latest album cliché, but still hanging on|date=October 6, 2011}}</ref>

===Epic Records (1988–2006)===
The success of [[10,000 Maniacs]], [[Tracy Chapman]], and [[Suzanne Vega]] encouraged [[Epic Records]] to enlist other folk-based female singer-songwriters; Epic signed the duo in 1988. Their first major-label release, also named ''[[Indigo Girls (album)|Indigo Girls]]'', which scored No. 22 on the album chart, included a new version of "Land of Canaan", which was also on their 1985 EP album and on ''Strange Fire''.<ref name="Larkin"/> Also on the self-titled release was their first hit "[[Closer to Fine]]" (a collaboration with Irish band [[Hothouse Flowers]]),<ref name="Larkin"/> which scored No. 52 on the popular music [[record chart|chart]] and No. 26 on the [[modern rock]] chart. They even managed one week on the mainstream rock [[album-oriented rock]] music chart at No. 48.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.horizonmag.com/1/amy-ray.asp |title=horizonmag.com |publisher=horizonmag.com |access-date=August 17, 2011}}</ref> In 1990, they won a [[Grammy Award]] for [[Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album|Best Contemporary Folk Album]].

Their second album, ''[[Nomads Indians Saints]]'', went gold in December 1991 and included the hit song "Hammer and a Nail", a No. 12 modern rock music track; it was not as successful as their first, which was [[platinum certification|certified platinum]] at about the same time. The Indigo Girls followed it with the live ''[[Back on the Bus, Y'all]]'' and 1992's album ''[[Rites of Passage (Indigo Girls album)|Rites of Passage]]'', featuring the song "[[Galileo (song)|Galileo]]",<ref name="Larkin"/> the duo's first top 10 modern rock music track (#10). During the accompanying tour in December, they invited on a few dates [[Siouxsie Sioux]] of [[Siouxsie and the Banshees]] as special guest to sing a couple of songs with them.<ref>Zarker, Karen. [http://www.popmatters.com/feature/amy-ray/ "20 Questions Amy Ray"]. Popmatters. July 20, 2008. Retrieved July 20, 2015.<br />Catlin, Roger. [https://archive.today/20240119021624/https://www.courant.com/1992/12/09/guests-complement-crowd-pleasing-indigo-girls/ "Guest Complement Crowd-pleasing Indigo Girls" &#91;live review&#93;] Hartford Courant. December 9, 1992. Retrieved July 15, 2015</ref> They then recorded ''[[Swamp Ophelia]]'' in 1994,<ref name="Larkin"/> which went platinum in September 1996, and charted at No. 9 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] album [[record chart|chart]].

In 1995, the Indigo Girls released a [[live album|live]], [[double album|double]] CD, ''[[1200 Curfews]]''. ''[[Shaming of the Sun]]'' was released in 1997 followed by ''[[Come on Now Social]]'' in 1999. ''Shaming of the Sun'' debuted at number seven on the Billboard charts, driven by the duo's contribution to the [[Lilith Fair]] music festival tour. The track "Shame on You" received more airplay on [[adult album alternative|adult alternative]], [[top 40]] and [[adult top 40]] radio stations than any of their previous singles, although this seemed to be a peak in their crossover success.

''Retrospective'', a [[compilation album]] with two new tracks, was released in 2000 and ''[[Become You]]'' followed two years later. Their last [[Epic Records|Epic]] studio album was ''[[All That We Let In]]'', released in 2004 with an accompanying tour. On June 14, 2005, they released ''Rarities'', a collection of B-sides and rare tracks partially decided by [[fan (person)|fans']] input, which fulfilled the album count obligation for their contract with Epic.

=== Hollywood Records (2006–07) ===
[[File:Indigo Girls 2005 01.jpg|thumb|250px|Indigo Girls performing in 2005.]]
After departing Epic, the Indigo Girls signed a five-record deal with [[Hollywood Records]]. Their first (and only) Hollywood album, ''[[Despite Our Differences]]'', produced by [[Mitchell Froom]], was released on September 19, 2006. John Metzger from ''MusicBox Online'' described ''Despite our Differences'' as "the most infectious, pop-infused set that the duo ever has managed to concoct.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Metzger |first1=John |title=Indigo Girls - Despite Our Differences (Album Review) |url=http://www.musicbox-online.com/reviews-2006/indigogirls-despiteourdifferences.html#axzz1jNfb45tg |website=www.musicbox-online.com}}</ref> In fact, its melodies, harmonies, and arrangements are so ingratiating that the album carries the weight of an instant classic." Thom Jurek from ''[[AllMusic]]'' wrote: "part of an emotional journey as complete as can be. More relevant than anyone dared expect. It's accessible and moving and true. It's their own brand of [[Rock and roll|rock & roll]], hewn from over the years, that bears a signature that is now indelible. A moving, and utterly poetic offering."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jurek |first1=Thom |title=Despite Our Differences - Indigo Girls {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/despite-our-differences-mw0000727180 |website=AllMusic |access-date=12 January 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

After releasing ''Despite Our Differences'', the Indigo Girls' contract was terminated by Hollywood Records during their 2007 tour.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.press-citizen.com/things-to-do/events/|title=Things To Do in Des Moines Iowa|website=Press-citizen.com|access-date=March 1, 2025}}</ref>

=== Independent work (2007–present) ===
[[File:Indigo Girls Fillmore.jpg|thumb|right|Performing at [[The Fillmore#Locations|The Fillmore]] in [[Charlotte, North Carolina]] in 2018]]
Following their break with Hollywood Records, the Indigo Girls announced their next record would be released independently.  ''[[Poseidon and the Bitter Bug]]'' was released on March 24, 2009, from IG Recordings, the Indigo Girls' label, and distributed through [[Vanguard Records]]. This album is their first fully independent release since 1987's ''Strange Fire'', and their first two-CD set since 1995's live album ''1200 Curfews''; the first disc has the 10 tracks accompanied by a backing band, and the second includes the same 10 songs with only Ray and Saliers on vocals and acoustic guitars, and an additional track. On June 29, 2010 Indigo Girls' second full-length live album, ''Staring Down the Brilliant Dream'', was released on IG Recordings/Vanguard Records. This was followed on October 12, 2010 with their first holiday album ''Holly Happy Days''. Indigo Girls' thirteenth studio album, ''[[Beauty Queen Sister]]'', was released on October 4, 2011, and their fourteenth studio album, ''[[One Lost Day]]'', was released on June 2, 2015 (both on IG Recordings/Vanguard Records).

Beginning in 2017, the Indigo Girls have toured the United States performing their music arranged for [[symphony orchestra]]. After more than 50 performances, in 2018 they released a live double album entitled ''[[Indigo Girls Live with the University of Colorado Symphony Orchestra]]''. In 2020, they followed this with the studio album ''[[Look Long]]''.