For almost four decades, Indigo Girls have been at the forefront of the women’s music scene. And given that they have been out of the closet for most of their career, they have acquired and maintained a large and avid fan base within the LGBTQ+ community.
The popular folk-rock duo has just released a biographical documentary on Netflix, titled “It’s Only Life After All,” which covers their lives from their first meeting in elementary school in Georgia, to their present-day position as revered elder matriarchs of the lesbian-feminist music world. The film consists of present-day interview footage as well as home movies that document their home life and their work in the studio and onstage.
Amy Ray and Emily Saliers first met when they were students at Laurel Ridge Elementary School in DeKalb County, Georgia, though they did not become close friends at first because Emily was a year ahead of Amy. Their friendship and musical collaboration began developing in college, where they performed together, as well as solo and with other musicians off-and-on for several years. In 1985, they solidified their partnership and began performing as Indigo Girls.
At that point, the film follows the usual musicians formula of following the duo’s early days establishing themselves as artists, building a fan base and acquiring their first recording contracts. However, the film goes a little beyond the formula by allowing the present-day Amy and Emily to offer mature insights as they look back on their past.
However, it gets more interesting when the film covers two matters that arise after the duo has become established and relatively popular—the first being the issue of coming out. While Amy denies ever having been closeted, she refrained from talking about it in deference to Emily, who struggled for some time with the issue. Eventually Emily resolved her issues, and the duo publicly came out in short order. Interestingly, the present-day Amy and Emily in the film come out again; both now identify as queer. While both of them are in long-term relationships with women, and have had children with their wives, both admit to having attraction to men.
The second matter has to do with the evolution of their political activism. While Indigo Girls were allied with various progressive causes almost from the beginning—predominantly environmentalism and gay rights—it was when they met an indigenous group of environmentalists that their perspective on their activism was profoundly changed.
The overall picture that emerges in the film is a portrait of a pair of immensely talented and seriously complicated women. Critics and fans have tried to pigeonhole Amy and Emily for years, but the duo resists easy characterization. One comes away admiring them, but understanding that both women have struggled, and continue to struggle with flaws and self-perceived shortcomings. Amy has struggled with anger management issues, while Emily has struggled with addiction.
But ultimately, Indigo Girls are still artists who, even after 40 years together, still believe in their art, acknowledging what their art means to their fans, and as women who believe in and are fiercely loyal to each other. Furthermore, what the viewer comes away with after watching “It’s Only Life After All” is a better understanding of and appreciation for these complicated, talented and admirable women.