Amy Ray (left) and Emily Saliers perform a free concert at Criminal Records. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

Atlanta’s own Indigo Girls have gone independent to release “Poseidon and the Bitter Bug.” Just like their last release in 2006, the pair decided to hold a free 30-minute concert at Criminal Records, drawing several hundred fans. 

This time, instead of doing it outside, they were able to perform at Criminal Records’ new locale and stage. They sampled several cuts from the new album, out today, as well as finishing again with their signature song “Closer to Fine,” a fine singalong song from 1989, 20 years ago. An attendee posted video on YouTube:

I took some video of Amy Ray singing “Sugar Tongue.” I apologize in advance for a couple of shaky moments. My cel phone went off a couple of times. I kind of did this on the fly!

They then spent the next hour signing autographs. When I went up to say hey real quickly, I asked them about going indie, and Emily Saliers said they were really happy. I said they can now sell 100,000 albums and make more money than if they had sold 1 million under the old way. “Well, we’d love to sell that much!” Ray mused. “50!” “I think you got at least 50 out of this,” I said.

Criminal Records itself was having a busy day. Local metal band Mastodon was going to hit the stage a couple hours later. Probably not a lot of overlap there in audience!

Emily Saliers (left) and Amy Ray (right) meet with a fan at Criminal Records March 24, 2009.