Emily Saliers of Atlanta's Indigo Girls shared with fans that she has two movement disorders that have negatively affected her voice. Sitting alongside bandmate Amy Ray in a social media video, Saliers announced her diagnosis ahead of their tour starting next week.
Saliers has cervical dystonia, which makes it impossible to hold her head without shaking, and an essential tremor that "affects all the parts of my singing apparatus." The conditions mean she can no longer hold a straight tone the way she once did. "Maybe all of you have noticed, it's pretty noticeable," she said. While she's receiving treatment including physical therapy, "the honest fact is that my voice will not be what it was."
The duo is bringing additional musicians on tour, with Lucy Wainwright Roche and Jeff Fielder joining them. "We're gonna work hard to make it good. And then whatever the future holds we'll see," Saliers said. The Indigo Girls have been together since the mid-1980s and remain one of Atlanta's most beloved musical exports. Their tour kicks off April 24 in Athens, Ohio, with the nearest Atlanta-area stop in Birmingham.
