The gem in the WorldPride program
Twins Tegan and Sara Quin embrace role as gay ambassadors
Identical twin sisters Tegan and Sara Quin have long been open about their sexuality. Now they’re embracing the role of gay ambassadors, growing more comfortable with a topic they were hesitant to discuss at the start of their musical careers.
“I remember feeling resistant to talking about being a twin, to talking about sexism or homophobia, talking about being gay,” said Tegan Quin, one half of the sister duo.
“I felt like it was marginalizing our music, it was making us a band only for gay people or for women,” she said.
Seven studio albums later, the sisters have proved otherwise.
Their latest release, Heartthrob, was a hit on both sides of the border and earned them three Junos last month, including Pop Album of the Year.
As their audience expands, they’ve gained a higher profile in the gay community.
Last Saturday, they were awarded Outstanding Music Artist at the GLAAD Media Awards, beating out high-profile mu- sicians including Lady Gaga and Elton John.
“I think this year, because we were able to reach so many more people, and we were getting on to pop radio and talking openly about who we are and our sexuality, I think a lot of people in the gay community took notice,” said Tegan, 33.
Tegan and Sara will have their highest profile yet when they headline the closing ceremony of WorldPride 2014 in Toronto this June.
The 10-day international festival, which starts June 20, celebrates all things LGBTTIQQ2SA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, transgender, intersex, queer, questioning, two-spirited and allies).
“This is really a gem in our program, to have Tegan and Sara join us for the closing ceremony,” said Kevin Beaulieu, the executive director of Pride Toronto.
Beaulieu said organizers expect to attract as many as two million people from around the world to the festival, which includes arts and cultural events and the WorldPride parade.
The opening ceremonies on June 20 will feature performances by Melissa Etheridge and Deborah Cox.
There will also be a human rights conference at the University of Toronto, with activists from around the world.
“I remember feeling resistant to talking about being a twin, to talking about sexism or homophobia, talking about being gay.” TEGAN QUIN POP SINGER
Tegan and Sara will cap the celebrations with a free concert at Yonge-Dundas Square on June 29. “This is a special year where we can highlight, in addition to talent from around the world, specifically Canadian talent and Canadian LGBT talent, and give them an audience that’s more international in scope and in scale than we’ve ever had before,” said Beaulieu. The Calgary-born Quin twins first attended Toronto Pride on one of their first trips to the city when they were 18, shortly after coming out as gay, Tegan said. “I remember at the time really being blown away with how many people were there and how many different kinds of people celebrated. “It was like the whole city was uniting and being excited about this thing that usually, based on my experience in Calgary, was very much just a gay thing,” she said. But at the start of their music career, Tegan said the sisters were worried about being defined as only a gay band. “I think I had genuine fear that that’s all anyone would have been interested in.” That fear drove the pair to push back in the early 2000s, diversifying their sound and trying to break out of the category of “folk artist” they’d been relegated to, Tegan said. While they were always supported by the gay community, people mistakenly assume that’s their only fan base, Tegan added. They found greater traction in the indie rock and alternative scenes, scoring a breakthrough radio hit in 2004 with “Walking With a Ghost.” Heartthrob is their most danceable album yet, blending electronic and pop sounds with their signature
The Quin twins attended their first Toronto Pride festival on one of their first trips to the city, shortly after coming out as gay
sharp songwriting.
“I don’t know of other gay bands that are being celebrated in the mainstream right now on pop radio in the United States. And that was our goal,” Tegan said.
In hindsight, she said, their initial reluctance about being defined as “just a gay band” was unfounded.
“If I could go back and say anything to us, it’s that we didn’t need to feel fearful.
“People were going to embrace us because we were going to write about our experiences and those experiences were going to resonate as universal.”