The three of us loaded ourselves into the car and drove from our apartment in small-town Lake Leelanau to big-city Detroit to witness R.E.M. in concert – our first time taking in my then-favorite band live.

The opening act was some unknown duo also from Athens, Georgia… Just two girls with two guitars and two very different but incredibly complementary voices. I was mesmerized. When Michael Stipe slowly drifted onto the stage to accompany them with vocals, it solidified the enchantment.

After their set, the duo invited us all to an after-show concert at Saint Andrew's Hall. I begged my companions to allow me to go since you had to be 21 to get in, and of the three of us, I was the only one who fit that criterion. Plus, we had a 4+ hour drive ahead of us to get back home. Graciously, they consented and allowed me a short agreed-upon time at the venue.

I paid the small cover fee and went in expecting a huge crowd but found only a handful — maybe 15 to 20 others—in a room that could have held a couple of hundred. When the artists came out on stage and saw the small numbers… rather than be disheartened, they simply unplugged their acoustics from the system, hopped off the stage, and joined us on the main floor. We all sat together in a small circle, and they took requests from their new fans and played and sang pretty much anything that was thrown at them…. (I remember a lot of Dylan, and I think even one Hendrix tune) We were invited to join them in singing together. It was glorious! Absolutely glorious…

I overstayed the agreed-upon time because I just couldn’t tear myself away. I left before the set ended, though. My companions were initially irritated with me for making them wait. Soon, however, the irritation wore off as I spent the next several minutes sharing my experience as we made the 270 drive back up to Northern Michigan.
We all became fans of this new duo, and many of the songs from their debut CD were incorporated into our own after-work parties and campfire get-togethers when our friends would circle up to pass guitars around and sing together. Our own glorious moments that I still revere as sacred…. Majestic.

36 years later, I’m still a fan. Thank you, Indigo Girls, for your voices in my story.