Interview: Amy Ray (Indigo Girls)

Over 30 years after her musical breakthrough with Emily Saliers in Indigo Girls, Amy Ray has never forgotten her roots — in particular, the role that fellow Georgia band R.E.M. played in helping launch their careers. “We would never have made it,” Ray recalls with such clear-eyed sincerity that one would think she was still living those early years. “They took us under their wing and taught us the ropes.” 

With Indigo Girls having just received the Spirit of Americana lifetime achievement award  — joining such luminaries as Kris Kristofferson, Johnny and Roseanne Cash, Billy Bragg, Jackson Browne, and Mavis Staples — the duo can safely place themselves in those mentor roles they looked up to. But this achievement doesn’t mean Ray is about to slow down — she’s currently embarking on a tour in support of her 10th solo album, If It All Goes South, which finds her returning to Asheville on Wednesday, Sept. 21, at Salvage Station.

Even if she’s occupying territories that evoke the idea of a sole creative force, Ray doesn’t look at it in that light. “It’s not really a solo record; it’s really a collaborative record more than anything,” she says. “I don’t tell anybody what to play. When we get to the studio and we’re actually in the same space together, all of us, then everything else really happens. Things happen that we didn’t expect, and we might drastically change something.”

That sense of adventure, exploration, and collaboration cuts right at the heart of what makes Ray & Co. still tick and attract fans year after year. In Ray’s mind, moving from Indigo Girls material to her own solo work and back again is more fluid than one might think. This relative seamlessness can be attributed to her love of songwriting and desire to achieve something new with each musical outing, recruiting players that encompass punk, bluegrass, folk, and other genres to aid in constructing those unknown landscapes. Maintaining consistency are themes that reach out to Ray as she creates a new batch of songs.

Ray started formulating ideas early in the COVID-19 pandemic, prompted by the various forms of suffering she noticed, both intimately and from a distance. Her New York City friends living in one-room apartments were feeling the growing sense of isolation, while others she knew were now without jobs and money, and would stop by the food pantry in Dahlonega, Ga., where Ray worked.

These dire circumstances gelled in her mind with the social upheaval that was occurring nationwide, thus allowing for material that spoke to those who were feeling disillusioned. “It’s that idea of allies and also finding compassion for other people, no matter if they’re different from you politically or not,” she says.

The compassion rings true in Ray’s tone of voice as she speaks graciously of her and Salier’s newest accolade. Though they have humorous mixed feelings about the honor, it also provides an opportunity to call out the lack of minority groups that are recognized in her field. 

“Racism and misogyny and homophobia: They are baked into the institution of the music business,” she says. ”We’ve had it good. Everything came together at the right time and it doesn’t happen like that for a lot of people who are good.” 

She quickly adds, “We weren’t even good!” followed by a hearty laugh that suggests she feels like the luckiest person on the planet.

With Asheville now a familiar stomping ground for Ray, who has cut some of her solo material in the city and even chose it to host the release show for her latest LP, what keeps drawing her back is the local talent. “The music scene there has always been really rich, but not elitist or cliquey,” she says. “It’s been very nurturing. It must be something in the water.”

IF YOU GO

Who: Amy Ray Band with Katie Pruitt
When: Wednesday, Sept. 21, 8 p.m.
Where: Salvage Station, 468 Riverside Drive, salvagestation.com
Tickets: $20 advance/$25 day of show

(Photo by Sandlin Gaither)