Indigo Girls bringing tour to Columbia, where they had concert canceled years ago
The Indigo Girls, an award-winning folk duo, are coming to Columbia for a concert this spring.
Their May 26 performance at the Columbia Speedway Entertainment Center will be 23 years to the month after a scheduled free performance at Irmo High was canceled by school administrators.
Ticket prices for the upcoming show in Cayce range from $35 to $60 and will go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. at ColaConcerts.com and ticketmaster.com.
Each ticket will cover the cost of one seat in a two- or four-person cove and patrons must purchase all tickets in the cove, officials said in a news release.
Tickets will also be on sale the night of show at the gate, subject to availability.
There might not be any left as the Indigo Girls sold out their most recent appearance in Columbia — a Jan. 25, 2020, concert at The Senate.
The show the group might be best known for in Columbia is one that didn’t happen.
The Grammy Award winners’ May 1998 show at Irmo High School was canceled because of complaints about the duo’s sexuality, the National Coalition Against Censorship reported.
The Indigo Girls — Amy Ray and Emily Saliers — are openly gay. They are committed and uncompromising activists for LGBTQ rights, in addition to immigration reform, education, death penalty reform, and sustainability in Native communities, concert promoters said.
Back in 1998, Irmo High students and a spokeswoman for their former record label, Epic, said the concert was canceled because of the band’s sexuality, according to Democracy Now.
‘’The time has come to take a stand,’‘ then school board chairman David C. Eckstrom said in The New York Times. ‘‘If the Indigo Girls got their feelings hurt, that’s too bad.’‘
Students tried to take a stand and about 200 protested the canceled concert with a walkout, but 10 were suspended for eight days apiece, according to The State Media Co.’s archives.
The Indigo Girls eventually moved the show to the Township Auditorium in downtown Columbia, and gave away 2,000 tickets to students, the Spartanburg Herald Journal reported.
Although there were some protests outside of the Township, the concert went off without any issue, according to The State.
In the decades since, the Indigo Girls have continued to cement their reputation as one of the most successful folk duos in history, concert promoters said in a news release. Their self-titled debut album, released in 1989, sold over two million copies and featured hit singles “Closer to Fine” and “Kid Fears,” according to the release.
Over a 35-year career that began in clubs around their native Atlanta, Georgia, the duo has recorded sixteen studio albums (seven gold, four platinum, one double platinum), sold over 15 million records, and built a dedicated, enduring following, according to the release.
The Indigo Girls released nine studio albums with Epic before going back to producing their albums independently in 2007.
In recent years they’ve collaborated with Brandi Carlile, Bon Iver, Sierra Hull, and Matt Nathanson among others and their concerts are known for jubilant crowd singalongs that often overpower the band, according to the release.
“The phenomenon epitomizes the sense of belonging and celebration that Indigo Girls’ music radiates,” promoters said.
The Indigo Girls are the latest act to announce an appearance at Columbia Speedway as part of a concert series there.
The upcoming series at the Cayce venue includes scheduled musical performances from Blackberry Smoke & North Mississippi Allstars on April 23, Wynonna Judd on April 25, Grace Potter on April 29, Shovels & Rope on May 1, Mt. Joy on May 15, Dark Star Orchestra on June 5-6, Disco Biscuits on June 18-19, and Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit later in the year on Sept. 2.
Promoters for the venue said additional shows will be announced soon.
The new entertainment center at Columbia Speedway, on Charleston Highway, features “two massive high definition LED screens flanking a festival-quality stage,” concert series organizers said Tuesday in a news release. The screens are more than 40 feet wide and can be viewed in sunlight or at night, according to the release.
The renovated venue features cove seating to help keep visitors separated during the pandemic. The cove seats are 12-by-10 square foot areas with room for two to four people, who are separated from other coves, according to the release.
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