Longtime supporters of American Indian causes in Minnesota, the Indigo Girls have signed on to join a special charity dinner show with Indigenous chefs at the Guthrie Theater in November.
The "Closer to Fine" anthem singers are now the confirmed performers for the Epicurean Award to Support Scholars (EATSS) benefit party scheduled Nov. 8 at the Guthrie in Minneapolis. Proceeds from the culinary/music hybrid event go to the American Indian College Fund, which has given out more than $319 million in scholarships since 1989.
Five renowned chefs from around the country will be working with Twin Cities catering crew Chow Girls to shape the menu for the soiree, including Pyet DeSpain (winner of Gordon Ramsay's TV competition "Next Level Chef"), Andrea Murdoch (founder of Denver's Four Directions Cuisine) and Brian Yazzie (International Foodways).
Tickets are on sale now at $150-$250 for "preferred" seats and the dining experience via guthrietheater.org. Concert-only tickets are also available for $100.
This will be the Indigo Girls' second time playing the Twin Cities in 2023, following a sold-out outdoor show in front of 4,000 fans at the Hilde Performance Center in August. Singing partners Emily Saliers and Amy Ray are enjoying something of a renaissance this year, thanks to the prominent use of "Closer to Fine" in Greta Gerwig's "Barbie" movie as well as a new documentary about their enduring, 40-plus-year career, titled "It's Only Life After All."
Ray and Saliers have long been supporters of Indigenous activist Winona LaDuke's environmental organization Honor the Earth. In 2022, they co-headlined Honor the Earth's Water Is Life Festival at Duluth's Bayfront Festival Park with Ani DiFranco.
