Melissa Etheridge & Indigo Girls

For more than three decades, Melissa Etheridge has been one of folk-rock’s most resonant voices, offering comfort and solace to listeners while also serving as a defiant beacon of hope. Etheridge’s 1988 self-titled debut—which she recorded in four days—went double-platinum and was hailed widely by critics for its stripped-down take on roots rock, which recalled fellow Midwesterner John Cougar Mellencamp while also channeling the passion of Janis Joplin. Its blues-tinged single “Bring Me Some Water” was nominated for the Best Female Rock Vocal Performance Grammy, one of 15 nominations she’s received over the course of her career. Across four decades, 16 studio albums, and over 15 million records sold, Indigo Girls continue to blaze the trail for generations of Queer artists in the mainstream. The Grammy-winning duo of Emily Saliers and Amy Ray began their career in clubs and bars around their native Atlanta, GA amidst a blossoming alternative music scene before signing to Epic Records in 1988.