Aly & AJ Hit All The Right Beats in Boston

“We’re here to take you back to your childhood and into the future.” Aly and AJ Michalka called out to the crowd kicking off a nostalgic night in Boston.

In shadow, a vintage radio scanned through static until it eventually tuned to a suspenseful hum.

With drumbeats and guitar shreds reserved for rockstars, the sister duo strolled on to the stage to assume their spots at their ribbon wrapped mic stands.

Surrounded by a set of beautifully painted and carved cliffside backdrops, Aly & AJ began performing a very apropos “Pretty Places.”

They continued with songs like “Listen!!!” and “Lost Cause” from their latest studio album, a touch of the beat gets you up on your feet gets you out and then into the sun.

This indie-pop project, is a display of their evolution as artists who began their music career 17 years ago.

As a nod back to where it all started, Aly & AJ played “No One.” The emotional song for those who are “imperfect” is not only moving in its message, but for the reasons the duo wrote it. They never had any idea of the impact that it would have, all their music was just “beautiful songs that we were writing for ourselves,” Aly shared. The acoustic guitar driven track led into “Promises,” the theme of their recent tour.

Unlike that previous tour, this venue was double the size and the sisters took advantage of the larger stage singing at all sides, and even from the drum platform.

Keeping with tradition, Aly and AJ dedicated a portion of their show to highlighting charities, one being the Trevor Project. Aly explained “we lift up the communities that we care deeply about.”

The crowd’s support also extended to AJ who opened up with a song very “near and dear to [her] heart” about trauma that she “can’t put into words.” Recognizing and supporting her vulnerability, the crowd intently listened to the song that she wrote, “to help me cope and get through the trauma.”