EXCLUSIVE: Tegan Quin Excited to Be a Dinah Virgin

You've probably heard the news by now that the iconic, out indie musicians Tegan and Sara are set to headline the 2014 Club Skirts Dinah Shore Weekend. The twin sisters from Canada are set to accept the headlining mantle from similarly massive stars like Katy Perry and Lady Gaga. 

But because both Tegan and Sara Quin have been out lesbians throughout their multi-decade career, there's a particular poignance to their performance — and that's something that isn't lost on Tegan. 

Confessing that she's never attended the Dinah before — as either a performer or a patron — Tegan talked with SheWired about what we can expect when she and Sara join us out in Palm Springs to pop her Dinah cherry. 

"I'm really excited!" Tegan tells SheWired on the phone from her home in Vancouver. "I really am, like, thrilled. We try to do as many queer events as we possibly can, so it's always really exciting for us when we can… And obviously we're very aware of Dinah Shore, so I feel like it's going to be a lot of fun."

As for whether or not we'll see the out sisters splashing around at Sunday' pool party, Tegan is tight-lipped. 

"I honestly have no idea," she says. "I don't know anything about what happens there, or what our plans will be, or when we're coming in, or what's happening before. I don't know if we're going to be on tour and we're just flying in for the date, or what. So it's going to be a surprise."

We're willing to bet there are more than a few of you who would be willing to show these Dinah virgins the ropes. Though we should probably note that you'll need to be ready to do so with each sister's partner in tow. 

"We try to keep that fine line between, obviously, a desire from our audience to know as much as they possibly can about us," explains Tegan, noting that both she and Sara have been relatively public about their relationship statuses. "But I think that our music is where we try to rely on sharing who we are and what we're doing. But I think it's safe to say that Sara and I are both very happy."

That happiness was undeniably evident on the pair's latest record, their seventh studio album, Heartthrob. Debuting at number 3 on Billboard's 200 when it dropped last January, the album's first single, "Closer," continues to reside happily on numerous top-40 countdowns around the nation. 

Longtime fans will undoubtedly notice a decidedly upbeat tone on Heartthrob that's a rather severe departure from the pair's more somber earlier releases. Tegan says there's a reason for that. 

"We definitely made a concerted effort to make a record that would be more accessible, and would get played on radio," she explains. "But we also just love pop music, so when we were writing, it just felt natural, it just felt like we were writing a different kind of record. The records for The Con and Sainthood were darker, and a lot more about reflecting on the loss of love, and the loss of people we'd loved. And we'd had two really big deaths before we wrote The Con, so I think we were processing a really different kind of emotions on those records. Whereas, when we were writing Heartthrob, I think we were celebrating good love, and also celebrating the end of love that doesn't need to be mourned, but that needs to just be celebrated."

But just because things are going the Quins' way now doesn't mean they don't still have a bank of past angst to tap into on the days they're feeling gloomy. 

"I hope, at this point in our lives, that … we've avoided intense heartbreak," Tegan explains. "Not to say that we won't be able to write about intense heartbreak moving forward. I think we've both experienced enough heartbreak and self-imposed sadness to probably write ten more records and never have to experience something sad again."

Regardless of the tone of future records, we're grateful to have Tegan and Sara on our side, as powerful and thoughtful advocates for equality for women and LGBT people. The duo next takes the stage in New York City for Amnesty International's Bringing Human Rights Home concert on February 5 at Brooklyn's Barclay's Center. The Quin sisters will share the bill with The Flaming Lips, Imagine Dragons, Ms. Lauryn Hill, and members of Russian protest-punk band Pussy Riot — some of whom were jailed for two years for speaking out against the Kremlin's misogynistic and homophobic campaign to suppress dissent. 

"It's beyond the music," says Tegan. "It transcends the music, it's about our community, it's about being different, and giving people a different image of what women can be in the music business [and beyond]."