Aly & AJ Performance and Q&A Recap
By Josie Blatt ’21, Managing Editor
On Tuesday, March 30, Hamilton students lived out their early 2000s childhood dreams thanks to a private virtual performance and Q&A with pop duo Aly & AJ. Hamilton’s Campus Activities Board (CAB) organized the event in conjunction with the Middlebury College Activities Board and the Union College Student Forum. The non-profit organization Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE) sponsored the event, making it free for CAB and Hamilton students.
Aly and AJ Michalka are two sisters who have been making music together for over 15 years. They released their first album, Into The Rush, in 2005 with Hollywood Records. “Rush,” “No One,” and “Chemicals React” were their three promotional singles on this album. They followed up Into The Rush with their holiday album Acoustic Hearts of Winter in 2006, and their third album Insomniatic in 2007. Insomniatic features singles “Potential Breakup Song” and “Like Whoa.”
After releasing Insomniatic, the duo parted ways with Hollywood Records and briefly changed their artist name to 78violet. Under the new name, they still continued to release music from 2010 to 2015, but at a much slower rate. Eventually, the duo reclaimed the title Aly & AJ in 2015, and in 2017, released their first single in 10 years, “Take Me.” Since then, they have released two EPs, Ten Years and Sanctuary. Their first full-length studio album since Insomniatic will be released later this spring.
The two sisters also have strong acting careers, which many students had questions about. Both Aly and AJ starred in the 2006 Disney Channel Original Movie Cow Belles. Additionally, AJ is well known for her work as a voice actor in the Netflix animated series She-Ra and the Princess of Power, and Aly starred in the Disney Channel Original Series Phil of the Future. They both have also worked on several indie films in the past decade, including Weepah Way for Now.
The Spectator had the chance to sit down with CAB Concerts Co-Coordinator Jonah Bauer ’22, who moderated and helped to organize the event. Bauer explained the process of planning the performance and Q&A. Former CAB Concert Coordinator Josh Rothstein ’19 now represents Aly & AJ at Primary Wave, a music talent management agency. Rothstein reached out to Bauer to ask whether CAB would be interested in sponsoring the event and if Bauer would moderate it. Bauer responded to Rothstein enthusiastically: “I said yes, absolutely, that sounds incredible.” He also spoke on collaborating with Middlebury and Union Colleges, saying “I consider myself a very collaborative person so being able to work with new students beyond the CAB members I’m used to [working with] was definitely very fun and a great experience.”
The event began with an interview with the duo about what it is like to make an album in quarantine, and what they are looking forward to post-pandemic. Aly said, “Getting this music up in a live space is the most exciting thing for Aly and me.” They both emphasized the value of connecting with fans in person, though they recognized that this extended time at home has helped spark their creativity and drive to create a new album. Then, Aly & AJ performed “Slow Dancing,” the first single from their upcoming album. The song featured both artists singing while playing acoustic guitar.
In addition to performing, Aly & AJ are also passionate about social activism, made clear through how much of the event was focused on them interviewing a representative from CORE about COVID safety. During the Q&A portion of the event, Aly & AJ also spoke about their work through their “Sanctuary” tour in 2019 with the Trevor Project, a non-profit organization focused on supporting LGBTQ+ youth.
After singing “Slow Dancing,” Aly & AJ shifted into the role of interviewer, as they asked a representative at CORE questions about the work they do with testing, vaccination, and supporting local communities during the pandemic. The information felt a bit misplaced, as the CORE representative spent several minutes advertising their testing centers. Hamilton students are not in need of access to COVID testing at the moment.
After the CORE conversation, Aly & AJ performed one more song, “Pretty Places,” also a recent single from their new album. Then, a member of Middlebury’s Activities Board asked the duo student questions from the Zoom chat and from Google Forms sent out prior to the event. These questions revolved mostly around their early career when many current college students were seeing them on Disney Channel. Aly & AJ expressed their gratitude for that time in their career but highlighted that their focus now is more on promoting their current work and music that they have released in the past three or four years. Aly & AJ also spoke of their appreciation for TikTok, which encouraged them to release an explicit version of their most successful song to date, “Potential Breakup Song.”
Some students expressed their disappointment that Aly & AJ only performed two songs, and none of their older songs. However, Bauer explained, “For every college they [toured at], the events were sort of oriented around this message of COVID safety and wellness. So this was like [Aly & AJ’s] idea. They’re very much activists and they work with CORE specifically, so for every single school performance they did, they integrated a moderator from CORE to have this wellness conversation.” Thus, the time spent on the CORE conversation was necessary in order to have the event at all.
Aly & AJ’s upcoming album, titled A Touch Of the Beat Gets You Up on Your Feet Gets You Out and Then Into the Sun, will be released and available on all streaming platforms on May 7.
