On Sunday night, Roadrunner was packed with a crowd that grew up on Aly & AJ. The sisters made it clear though before the first note: this was not going to be a nostalgia-only victory lap. Aly & AJ have been steadily rebuilding their musical identity for years, and Boston showed up ready for the band they are now, not just the one they grew up with in 2005.Â
Amanda Shires opened the evening with a soulful, stripped down opening set. Shrouded in dark, moody lighting, she let her vocals and fiddle do most of the work. Most of the songs pulled from her recent release Nobody’s Girl, and the arrangements were kept intentionally bare. For much of the set it was just Shires, her fiddle, and a pianist. A guitarist stepped in for a few selections, but the set was intentionally minimal. It was understated, emotional, and locked the room into silence in a way you don’t see many opening acts do.Â
When Aly & AJ took the stage, the atmosphere shifted from introspective to electric. And it makes sense given the stark genre differences between the two. The duo leaned into millennial nostalgia without relying on it as a crutch. While they may always be tethered in some way to their massive hit “Potential Breakup Song,” they have continued to evolve since returning to music in 2018. Their appeal remains simple and refreshing. They play their instruments. They sing live. There is no smoke-and-mirrors, reliance on backing tracks or heavy autotune. Just confident pop rock delivered by artists who know exactly who they are.Â
Midway through the night they brought Amanda Shires back out for “Blue Dress” and “Lasso.” Her voice and fiddle slipped into their sound naturally. It was one of the set’s standout moments, and brought cohesion between the two acts. Later, the sisters took two chairs to the front of the stage with just their guitars for a brief acoustic run through early material from Into the Rush, their 2005 debut album.Â
Towards the end of the night, Aly & AJ paused to highlight Everytown for Gun Safety, the charity they are supporting on this tour. Their goal is to raise $100,000, and the choice felt deeply personal given what the sisters have experienced in recent years (the band survived a mass shooting in 2022).Â
The sisters wrapped up “Places to Run” and said their goodbyes. But of course, the fake-out “last song” fooled no one. When they returned for “Potential Breakup Song,” you could feel every heart in the venue explode at once. Call it millennial-core or nostalgia fuel, but it still works. The crowd shouted every word, and Aly & AJ rode that wave to the end.
Aly & AJ proved something in Boston. Nostalgia may pack the room, but substance keeps it. On this tour, they have both.
For tickets to the Silver Deliverer Tour, visit alyandaj.com
