Saliers was born in New Haven, Connecticut as the second eldest of four daughters—to Don and Jane Saliers. Since approximately age 11, she was raised in Decatur, Georgia. Don Saliers was the William R. Cannon Distinguished Professor of Theology and Worship at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University; he is currently Theologian-in-Residence and a professor emeritus. In addition to teaching theology and worship, he directed the master of sacred music program there. Emily attended Laurel Ridge Elementary School in Decatur, Georgia. She later attended Shamrock High School, which she did not like. She began her college education at Tulane University but transferred to Emory University, graduating in 1985 with a bachelor's degree in English.
Musical career
Indigo Girls
Saliers first met her future Indigo Girls counterpart Amy Ray when they were students at Laurel Ridge Elementary School in Decatur, Georgia. As students at Shamrock High School, they started performing music together at talent shows and local venues under the band names of "Saliers & Ray" and the "B-Band". When Saliers left Georgia for college in Louisiana, Ray frequently visited her. They would play together for tips in New Orleans' French Quarter. Saliers and Ray eventually reunited when they transferred from their respective colleges to Emory University. At Emory they settled upon the band name Indigo Girls; Ray came across the word in the dictionary and "thought it sounded cool".
Performing as Emily Saliers
In 2004, Saliers composed her first film score for the independent short film, One Weekend a Month. She occasionally performs solo at benefit shows or as a guest with friends' bands. She and her father Don Saliers performed together once at the Washington National Cathedral in 2007. In 2014, she began working on her first solo album, Murmuration Nation, which was released on August 11, 2017 and was produced by longtime friend and Juilliard-trained violin player for Indigo Girls, Lyris Hung. The album was recorded in New York City and engineered by Ryan Kelly and Tom Morello. Appearing with Saliers are drummers Robert "Sput" Searight and Will Calhoun, bassist Tim Lefebvre, and keyboardist Rachel Eckroth, along with guest vocalists Jonatha Brooke, Jennifer Nettles, and Lucy Wainwright Roche.
Non-performance career
Saliers was a co-owner of Watershed, a restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia, from its founding until she sold her share in April 2018. Emily was one of the initial investors in the Flying Biscuit Cafe. She was a co-founder of the Common Pond environmental gift shop in Atlanta, Georgia. Saliers has co-written a book with her father, Don Saliers, a retired theology professor at Candler School of Theology at Emory University, called A Song to Sing, a Life to Live: Reflections on Music as Spiritual Practice. Emily and her father attended book signings and church appearances around the US in support of the book, including the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. in May 2005 and October 2007.
Personal life
Saliers married her longtime girlfriend, former Indigo Girls tour manager Tristin Chipman at New York City Hall on August 20, 2013. Chipman, a Canadian, is from Calgary, but she spent most of her adult life in Toronto, according to Saliers between songs when performing onstage in Vancouver in 2013. The couple already had a daughter, Cleo, born in November 2012 Saliers had a passion for wine collecting, with a wine cellar that was reported to be at 2,000 bottles, but in 2015 she announced that she had given up drinking. Saliers assisted in funding a music room at Emory University's Schwartz Center for Performing Arts which was named for her parents Don and Jane Saliers.
