Tegan and Sara channel LGBTQ power with The Con X: Covers, new covers album whose proceeds will help gay women
Featuring artists including Cyndi Lauper and Ryan Adams, proceeds from the album will go to the Tegan and Sara Foundation, which focuses on
funding education and health care for gay women and girls
The Con, the Calgary-born identical twins’ fifth album, wasn’t their first to achieve some measure of success – and they later found a mainstream audience, and went on tour with Katy Perry.
But with its emotional directness and a style that wove together folk rock and synth pop, The Con struck a chord, especially among young gay women who enthusiastically packed Tegan and Sara’s concerts. And there have been a lot of concerts, including two in Hong Kong – Clockenflap in 2013 and a solo show at Kitec last year.
To mark the 10th anniversary of its release, Tegan and Sara released a collection of covers from The Con, from artists influenced by the band and established stars including Cyndi Lauper.
Proceeds from The Con X: Covers will support the new Tegan and Sara Foundation, set up by the duo to champion LGBTQ rights – but geared toward women and girls.
How Tegan and Sara’s sound has evolved from acoustic to indie rock to synth-pop
“So many people in our audiences identify somewhere on the LGBTQ spectrum and, in some ways, it can feel like preaching to the converted,” Sara Quin says.
“But I think what maybe is lost sometimes is how much power we have as a group, and financially how little of the fundraising money that comes in for queer people is actually going to women and girls.”