Tegan & Sara

by MacKenzie Wilson Folk-rock duo Tegan and Sara first burst onto the Canadian music scene in 1998, when they earned the highest score in history at Calgary's "Garage Warz" competition; their quick rise didn't stop, for their melodic acoustics and charming stage personas led to a slew of dates with Sarah McLachlan's Lilith Fair that same year and a record deal with Neil Young's Vapor Records in April 2000. Natives of Calgary, these twin sisters transpired their music interests from the likings of their parents. Tegan and Sara began playing piano at age eight, and in their teens they were skanking around in their own punk bands. This Business of Art, which was produced by singer/songwriter Hawksley Workman, marked their debut in mid-2000, and a summer tour with Neil Young and the Pretenders followed in July. Two years later, Tegan and Sara released If It Was You, and the So Jealous hit shelves in 2004. In 2007, Tegan sang backup on a song on new Sire labelmate Against Me!'s album New Wave, and the twins, who had by now moved far from the singer/songwriter mold and were more interested in exploring pop, punk, and indie rock, came out with the Christopher Walla (of Death Cab) produced The Con.