Indigo Girls are sharing “Country Radio” from their upcoming album, Look Long (May 22, Rounder). Written by Saliers, the song had been added to the set on recent tours, including a full-band performance on Live from Here with Chris Thile. “I can tell it’s resonating with people,” says Emily. “When I get to that line, ‘I’m just a gay kid who loves country radio,’ there’s an audible verbal response from the audience.”
“This song is the way I felt doing those four-hour drives from Nashville to Atlanta, listening to country music radio,” Saliers remembers. “I could almost put my own life story in these songs, but I can’t. There are gender divisions and heteronormative realities. There’s a lot of self-homophobia that I’ve had to work on in my own life that plays into this as well.”
“Country Radio” is out now, alongside “Shit Kickin’,” “Change My Heart” and “When We Were Writers.”
Produced by John Reynolds at Peter Gabriel’s Real World studios in Bath, England, Look Longwas born from a need for Saliers and Amy Ray to sing songs and bolster each other. “People can feel lost in these times,” Saliers explains. “Let’s lament our limitations, but let’s also look beyond what’s right in front of us, take the long view of things, and strive to do better.”
In 1999, Reynolds produced Indigo Girls’ beloved album, Come On Now Social, a time described by Ray as “one of the most important moments in our musical growth.”
Inspired by the response to their March 19 livestream––around 80,000 viewers Indigo Girls have confirmed a concert and Q&A series, livestreaming every Thursday in May (7, 14, 21) at 7:00pm ET (Facebook Live and Instagram Live). The May 14 concert will include an optional donation with all proceeds to charity.
“We were amazed and honored to have so many folks tuning in the last time we did a livestream,” says Amy Ray. “Especially cool is the way the community comments to each other and gets super connected and engaged. We need that kind of connection in this world and we feel so lucky to have all y’all! So glad Emily and I can do this and have access to some internet:-)”
