By Laura Duncan
Aly and AJ celebrated their inaugural visit to Athens, Georgia, with a show at The Georgia Theatre this past Wednesday, March 18. The former Disney Channel sisters were greeted with hundreds of enthusiastic fans in an intimate floor-only show. The pair kicked off the show with the song “Silver Deliverer,” from their most recent album of the same name. After the first song, the sisters shared how excited they were to be in Athens for the first time. They revealed they would be focusing on newer material for the show, particularly from their most recent album, which they are super proud of. They introduced the following song as “an anthem on and off the stage, for all the ladies out there, this is for you,” and began playing “What It Feels Like,” a touching song about Aly’s experience as a new mother to her first child and AJ’s experience becoming an aunt for the first time. The song explores how exciting growing older and starting a new chapter of life is, while wanting to know what it feels like. The pair invited people to grab their loved ones and dance as they swung into, in my opinion, one of their more underrated hits, “Slow Dancing”. As the song waned to a close, fans could be heard screaming, “We love you.”
Towards the mid-point of the show, Aly and AJ took a somber moment to reflect on their experience surviving a mass shooting in California, with their entire crew in 2022. They mentioned how, after surviving such a harrowing experience, they knew they needed to use their platforms to speak out against gun violence and lift up organizations fighting for gun control like Everytown. The sisters invited concert patrons to donate to the organization to support their cause for more gun regulations. They explained how this experience changed their lives and contextualized how easy it could have been for one of them or any member of their crew to have been one of the people who passed away that day. They introduced the following song, “Sirens,” by explaining how they were moved to write a song about their experience, As “Sirens” began to play, the room was in silent reverence for the beautiful and haunting song, “It could’ve been me. Instead it’s sirens over their bodies. Another day in America, we wait around for the change that never comes.” I think I can speak for most when I say that the song did not leave one with dry eyes.
Towards the end of their set, Aly and AJ celebrated the 20th anniversary of their first album, “Into The Rush,” and played the title song “Rush.” Furthermore, they mentioned how it was only right to play some of the songs that got them where they are today. Fans were ecstatic to have the opportunity to reminisce on childhood / young adulthood with songs that have stuck with them throughout the years. The pair finished out their show with a screaming encore of their number one hit, “Potential Break Up Song.” It was the perfect end to what was a time machine to younger years for many.
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