Emily Ann Saliers (born July 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and member of the musical duo Indigo Girls. Saliers sings soprano and plays lead guitar as well as banjo, piano, mandolin, ukulele, bouzouki and many other instruments.

Early life and education

Saliers was born in New Haven, Connecticut, as the second eldest of four daughters to Don and Jane Saliers (née Firmin), a librarian. Since approximately age 11, in Decatur, Georgia. She later attended Shamrock High School, which she did not like.) under the band names of "Saliers & Ray" She occasionally performs solo at benefit shows or as a guest with friends' bands. She and her father Don Saliers performed together once at the Washington National Cathedral in 2007. which was released on August 11, 2017 and was produced by longtime friend and Juilliard-trained violin player for Indigo Girls, Lyris Hung. The album was recorded in New York City and engineered by Ryan Kelly and Tom Morello. Appearing with Saliers are drummers Robert "Sput" Searight and Will Calhoun, bassist Tim Lefebvre, and keyboardist Rachel Eckroth, along with guest vocalists Jonatha Brooke, Jennifer Nettles, and Lucy Wainwright Roche.

Non-performance career

Saliers was a co-owner of Watershed, a restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia, from its founding until she sold her share in April 2018. Emily was one of the initial investors in the Flying Biscuit Cafe. She was a co-founder of the (now-defunct) Common Pond environmental gift shop in Atlanta, Georgia.

Saliers has co-written a book with her father, Don Saliers, a retired theology professor at Candler School of Theology at Emory University, called A Song to Sing, a Life to Live: Reflections on Music as Spiritual Practice. on August 20, 2013. The couple have a daughter, born in November 2012. She has since disclosed that she became sober in 2011, calling it her "biggest challenge."

Saliers assisted in funding a music room at Emory University's Schwartz Center for Performing Arts which was named for her parents Don and Jane Saliers.

On April 17, 2026, in a video posted to Facebook and Instagram, Saliers explained that she had been diagnosed with cervical dystonia torticollis, and essential tremor. Both of them make it difficult for her to hold a straight tone while singing.

References

  • Watershed