Aly & AJ Bring Nostalgia and Awareness to Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium

It was all about the vibe at Aly & AJ’s headlining show at the Ryman Auditorium on Monday (April 10). 

There was an ethereal feeling cast over the Mother Church of Country Music as the sister duo of Aly and AJ Michalka arrived with their With Love From Tour. They established this when they took the stage with the opening number “Open to Something and That Something is You” off their new album, With Love From. With AJ on lead vocals and her sister on keys, providing background harmonies, the duo set a mellow tone over the hallowed venue, chasing “Open to Something” with the title track of their latest album, With Love From. 

The duo announced this was their first show at the Ryman since 2006. At the time, they were teenagers who had released their debut album, Into the Rush, a year prior, establishing them as bright songwriters with a perspective beyond their youthful years. They rose to even greater fame as the stars of the 2006 Disney Channel original film, Cow Belles. “I hope you’re mentally and emotionally prepared,” Aly warned the crowd of elated 20 and 30-something-year-olds for what was about to come. 

The show was the ideal blend of showcasing the nostalgic songs from their Disney days alongside the indie pop and folk sound they’ve cultivated over the past two years between albums A Touch of the Beat Gets You Up on Your Feet Gets You Out and Then Into the Sun in 2021 and With Love From in 2023. The stage was their playground, trading off instruments when they weren’t swapping harmonies, both taking turns on the keyboard while AJ held strong on the guitar and Aly rattled the Tambourine. Their sisterly harmonies really shone through on the call and response at the end of “Stomach,” which they cite as their favorite song off A Touch of the Beat, getting lost in the lyrics as they traded lines, And it hurts my stomach/Nothing I do makes it better.

They brought a lot of energy to the scorching “Don’t Need Nothing,” complete with a fiery drum solo. It was the perfect build-up to the song that everyone came to see: “Potential Breakup Song.” The familiar opening chords got the crowd quickly on its feet for the reimagined version of the hit song they released in 2020, complete with curse words they couldn’t say when the song originally came out in 2007. The audience of fans who were also likely teens when the song dropped were screaming along to every word as the duo flexed their vocal prowess. It was a true rock star moment and made for the most epic performance of the night. “You got the song,” Aly cheered afterward, the crowd still reeling from the nostalgia-filled moment. 

The sisters brought the room down from its high with “Slow Dancing,” which Aly prefaced by telling the crowd they’re meant to do as the title implies, followed by the equally mellow “Church,” the latter of which calls for self-redemption and showed off their harmonies as they admitted, I do bad things for the sake of good times/I don’t regret/Call me what you will/Yeah, I’m in it for the thrill/I’m just, I’m just selfish. 

The night took a sentimental turn when after performing an acoustic rendition of the typically high-energy “Like Woah” off their debut album, they opened up about how walking down memory lane reminded them why they started making music together.

“It was about us sharing the space together,” Aly shared as she and her younger sister sat side-by-side at the piano, also recalling how they would write songs and rush down the stairs to play them for their parents. “Some of those songs weren’t very great, but they got us here,” she reflected. 

They also shared how after releasing three albums, they needed to take a break from music, with the 14 years between Insomniatic in 2007 and A Touch of the Beat in 2021 allowing them the time to rejuvenate their creative spirits. But that spirit was born from their sisterly bond, which they put on full display while playing piano together on “Division,” a deep cut on Insomniatic that offered a soulful moment about setting someone free. The show happened to fall on the night of AJ’s 32nd birthday, and after singing “Happy Birthday” to herself like she did when she was a child at her sister’s request, the duo continued to capture their sisterhood through the sweet song “The Ride” off Into the Rush. 

But the tone turned serious as Aly stepped into the spotlight on the dimly lit stage to draw attention to the topic of gun violence.

“We wanted to bring awareness to something that’s close to our hearts,” Aly began. “I know this is a persona subject and feels very close to home,” she added, acknowledging the mass shooting that occurred at The Covenant School in Nashville on March 27, claiming the lives of three nine-year-olds and three adults. Aly became emotional as she tearfully recalled how she, her sister, and their band survived a mass shooting that occurred in Sacramento, California, near their tour bus in April 2022. which killed six people and left 12 others injured. 

In the aftermath of the tragedy, Aly and AJ aligned with Northwell Health to take the pledge that asks, “Is there an unlocked gun in the house?” when going into someone’s home. They encouraged the crowd to also take the pledge. “Hopefully there will be some change around this topic,” Aly professed.

It was then they welcomed Joy Oladokun to the stage for “Way of Nature of Grace,” their collaboration with her featured on With Love From, which led to a stripped-down version of “Rush.” Their three voices captured the haunting nature of the latter song. As the band members left the stage one by one at the song’s end, the crowd didn’t stop cheering until their returned for a two-song encore. Opening with a “song about asking someone to show up for you when you need them most,” led into the tender “Blue Dress.” The duo brought the night to a beautiful close with “6 Months of Staring Into the Sun.” With golden spotlights crisscrossing upon both singers, they left the crowd on a note that was both refreshing and nostalgic—signifying that’s what they do best.  

Photo by Stephen Ringer / Shore Fire Media