Twin Set
Tegan and Sara celebrate turning 30 and success as a sister act
By Stacey Jay Cavaliere

Canadian indie pop/rock sisters Tegan and Sara Quin have something to celebrate in September.

Not only are the identical twins observing their 30th birthdays, they are releasing Tegan and Sara: The Official Vinyl Collection Box Set, the definitive collection of their recordings.

To help promote the set, which combines five of their albums and includes nine never-before-heard demos, they’re touring with Paramore. The tour, also featuring New Found Glory and Kadawatha, comes to the Dodge Theatre in Phoenix on Sept. 15.

“We are so fortunate to have this opportunity to play with such amazing band,” the soft-spoken Tegan Quin said, gaining a bit of energy and excitement during a telephone interview from the road. “We play almost an hour-long set, old and new songs, and it has been incredible so far.”

Tegan and Sara were asked to join the tour by Paramore frontwoman Hayley Williams after she met the sisters through her boyfriend, New Found Glory guitarist Chad Gilbert.

“I met Chad a long time ago and we have just stayed in touch,” Quin said. “I stayed with him and Hayley while I was in Los Angeles and that turned into a great friendship between the three bands. It all came kind of natural and the tour has been so fun. The young fans are so eager to hear our music and our die-hard fans in the crowd strongly support the other acts as well.”

Quin said the sisters didn’t have a say about whether the tour should boycott Arizona. “While we respect artists who aren’t going, we also feel as though it’s a great opportunity to speak out about it while we are there,” she said.

“We did, however, cancel some appearances at both Best Buy and Target because of the recent controversy with the anti-gay political donations going on within those organizations. All in all, we don’t want to punish the fans.”

Tegan and Sara started touring with the likes of Neil Young and the Pretenders shortly after the release of their second full-length album, This Business of Art, in 2000. Since then they’ve toured the world with artists such as Weezer, Death Cab For Cutie and Rufus Wainwright.

“When we first started recording in the studio it was disastrous,” Tegan said. “We have evolved technically so much.” Their sixth album, Sainthood, was released in fall 2009.

The band’s folk-rock style, combined with their harmonies, has made Tegan and Sara a force to be reckoned with in the rock and roll world.

Although showered with rave reviews, Quin is humble about the success. “I still don’t believe I am a great singer,” she said. “When you take Sara and me to karaoke, it’s shocking.

“When we were performing at Lillith Fair this past summer, we had to come out and sing Natalie Merchant’s ‘Because the Night’ with the rest of the artists for the finale,” she remembered. “It was so horrifying, I just wanted to hide.”

Tegan and Sara have stayed true not only to their sound but also their convictions. The sisters have been out as lesbians since 1999, early in their career, but they never use being gay as a podium in their songs.

“I feel as though we are visible in the gay community and feel like we have a place and purpose in it, and our music is the vehicle for that,” Quin said.

The duo recently appeared on the cover of the national lesbian publication GO Magazine. They also have toured with Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors Tour, which promotes LGBT equality.

VITAL STATISTICS

Tegan and Sara
Opening for Paramore
6:30 p.m. Sept. 15
Dodge Theatre
400 W. Washington St., Phoenix
Tickets: $36.25 and $44.50
www.livenation.com; www.teganandsara.com