An Indigo Girls concert on a foggy day in San Francisco at the Stern Grove Festival during Pride weekend. It seems almost too stereotypical to have the pioneering LGBTQ folk group perform just hours after the parade, but the sold-out crowd didn’t mind being part of an obvious Bay Area cliché.
“I will always love Amy (Ray) and Emily (Saliers) and they are like lesbian royalty at this point,” said Oakland’s Allison Goldberg, who is seeing the Indigo Girls for the seventh time.
“Today represents the best that San Francisco has to offer: breathtaking natural beauty and a culture where you don’t compromise on being yourself,” said Rachel Prensky-Pomeranz, fellow Indigo Girls fan, of Stern Grove Festival. The Indigo Girls were the second group to perform at the concert series that year. Big names like Patti Smith and the Flaming Lips are slated for later this summer. Too $hort and Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead headlined the festival last year.
Singer-songwriter Neko Case opened the afternoon with her mix of folk and pop-inspired music. Case seemed in awe of the opportunity to open for the Indigo Girls.
“I’m going to cry a lot today,” Case told the crowd.
The atmosphere didn’t collapse between the start and the headliners. Festival resident DJ LadyRyan kept the energy high with tracks ranging from AC/DC to Prince to Shania Twain.
Fans enjoy the Indigo Girls concert at the Stern Grove Festival on Sunday, June 25 in San Francisco.
Paige K. Parsons / Stern Grove Festival
The crowd was just as enthusiastic as at other Pride weekend events, but perhaps a little less rowdy. A group of concert-goers were seen shooting LaCroix cans before the Indigo Girls moved on – full of hangover-free thrills.
The Indigo Girls set lasted just over an hour. During the performance, they mixed their biggest hits, many of which have become campfire hits, like “Least Complicated” and “Power of Two,” with newer tracks from their latest album and a superb cover of Dire Meerenge’s “Romeo and Juliet.” .
A huge crowd at @sterngrovefest was able to watch the Indigo Girls on Sunday afternoon. pic.twitter.com/mYlVcpvXh4
— Gabe Lehman (@lehmanga) June 26, 2023
“It’s great to be in San Francisco, especially during Pride Month,” Emily Saliers said toward the end of the show. “It’s an incredible experience, something to remember fondly.”
The performance, like the rest of the day, was mostly cheerful, but the band also used their platform to comment on current political issues.
“Send this to all the school librarians where they ban books,” Amy Ray said, most likely a reference to numerous “Don’t Say Gay” efforts across the country.
Amy Ray and Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls perform at the Stern Grove Festival in San Francisco on Sunday, June 25th.
Paige K. Parsons / Stern Grove Festival
The Indigo Girls closed with three of their most famous songs: “Galileo”, “Go” and finally “Closer to Fine” to which the amphitheater audience sang along, many with tears in their eyes.
“Stern Grove Festival is a true Bay Area gem. Growing up, I used to go there as a kid and [I] “They took for granted both the beauty of the park and the sense of community it fostered,” said Prensky-Pomeranz, who grew up within walking distance of the amphitheater. “Coming back as an adult for the first time, I now know that this type of experience doesn’t happen in every city.”
