(written by Katherine)

Ask anyone that knows me even remotely what my favorite band is, and they will tell you it's the Indigo Girls. Their music has always spoken to me in a very personal and meaningful way. I love acoustic guitar and their outstanding harmonies. Most of all, I love their lyrics. I appreciate the fact that it makes me think, that it's not just some primal beat to bop around to (although there's definite merit in that sometimes!).

In the summer of 1997 I went to my first IG concert in Richmond, VA, at the Classic Amphitheatre. It was the day before my 21st birthday and I was there with one of my best friends from high school, Christine, who shares my love of the IG. We had a blast- 9th row seats, Amy's side. I have never been so happy... well, that's not quite true. Read on to find out why!

On October 21, 1997, the unbelievable happened. I met Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. They were playing at Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, VA, where my other high school best friend, Huyen Campbell, was a senior. Her now-fiance, Ryan, was the station manager of WMWC and they had scheduled an interview with Amy and Emily before the concert. Huyen interviewed while I sat in the next room and gawked! Afterwards I was able to talk with them while they signed some stuff for me. They were so polite, friendly, and easygoing. We took a lot of pictures, some of which you'll see below. You can also check here, on Ryan's web page, for his account of the meeting and the interview in Real Audio.

This is a group shot of everyone who was in the radio station at MWC during the interview. That's Emily on the far left in the orange shirt, then Natalie Illum, one of the interviewers, and then Amy in the dark green shirt. Next to her is Ryan, then me, and Huyen is in front of us! I'm not sure of the names of the rest of the people in the picture, sorry!

Here I am watching Emily sign my shirt. That's Amy right behind my right shoulder. I was pretty speechless, but Emily and I did manage to have a conversation in which we agreed about the pretty color of the Get Out the Map t-shirt. She seemed to like the green as much as I do, and was pleased with how well it faded. The only bad thing about having this shirt autographed is that now I can't wear it!