Disney 'tween queens Aly & AJ, after 20 years, bring new 'best body of work' and old hits to Archer Music Hall tonight

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Two decades ago, sister actor/singer duo Aly & AJ were riding the wave of Disney's 'tween machine.

They and their music appeared in Disney TV shows and movies, and they had songs high on the pop charts, with the gold hits "Rush" and "Like Woah," and the double-platinum "Potential Breakup Song."

By the time they were in their late teens, they had left Disney's Hollywood Records and no longer had hits on the radio.

Now, after re-emerging in 2017, Aly & AJ has a new album, "Silver Deliverer," their third in four years.

It's a collection far more mature and contemplative folk/country/Americana music that the two say reflects their stations in life — including that Aly gave birth to a son while working on it.

In fact, the process so inspired Aly & AJ that in September, they released an EP of four more songs from the sessions — "More Silver" — and extended the tour to promote it.

That tour will stop at Archer Music Hall in Allentown at 7 tonight, March 26.

Tickets, at $46.05-$48.40, remain available at the Archer Music Hall website and the venue box office at 939 Hamilton St., Allentown.

“I think as Aly and I tour more and live more life and experience just more parts of the world, I think it seeps into our writing and our ability to perform live," AJ said.

"And we’ve just grown up into more seasoned songwriters and performers," she said, in a recent phone call, with her sister also on the line, from a tour stop in Charleston, South Carolina.

"So I think every album, I mean what I hope, is that each one gets better than the last. And I do think ‘Silver Deliverer' is the best body of work we’ve put out so far in our career.”

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Aly & AJ

'A lot of changes'

After a 10-year hiatus, Aly & AJ resumed making music in 2017 with the EP "Ten Years" which hit No. 25 on Billboard's Independent chart, and followed it with 2019's "Sanctuary," which peaked at No. 29.

But the new disc represents a clear evolution for the duo.

“There were a lot of changes in our lives while making this record — probably more than we’ve ever experienced while making an album,” AJ said.

“And I think that that’s captured in the music, and in the lyrics," Aly said. "I think, probably, we got into a lot of subject matters that we hadn’t really spoken about in this way — about love, loss, about traumatic events that have happened to us.

"You know, the hope of being able to kind of carry on, even through the really hard times."

But the most significant was the arrival of Aly's son, Jack, with husband and independent film producer Stephen Ringer on April 21, 2024.

The album includes the love-letter song to Jack called "What It Feels Like."

"At that point I didn’t know if I was having a girl or a boy, but kind of wanting to write a song about them," Aly said. “So I just think that, yeah, this album has a lot of, like, personal details I think we’ll always look fondly back on.”

AJ added, "I think it really inspired not only some really incredible songs, but also lent itself to the recording process. "And him being a week old when he came into the studio for the first time while Aly was singing."

'Music we listen to ourselves'

The album's musical style was more of a progression, Aly & AJ said.

“I think the last couple of records we slowly but surely made our way toward that," AJ said. "I think it’s Aly's and my natural state right now, and we're just kind of owning that and enjoying that genre that we’re living in feels really right for us.”

Aly said it's also "the kind of music that we listen to ourselves, and influences us.”

“Yeah, and it is a little more rock-leaning and a little less pop-leaning," AJ said. "We’ve kind of explored different genres throughout the years, and our fans have been really embracing us, every genre we manage to put out.

“I mean, it’s really oscillated between pop and now rock, but I do think this kind of folk-Americana/indie rock base is really where Aly and I feel the most comfortable right now — not only in the studio, but also on stage.”

Making music that the duo could easily take to the stage also was important, Aly said.

“It was a new collaboration for us, working with [producer] Jonathan Wilson," she said.

"So I think when it came to making the album with him, our goal was to, of course, enjoy our time recording and writing these songs, but to make a record that could really, um, transfer to stage seamlessly.

“And I think — I know — that this album, without a doubt, has been the most kind of seamless transition to a live show that we’ve made yet.

"And that feels really good because the live show is so important to us, and I think when we’re able make an album that is so easily transferred to the stage, we kind of all looked at each other like, ‘OK, we did it.’"

'Glad we circled back'

The pair's hiatus from releasing music, which started after their highest-charting album, "Insomniac," which hit No. 15 in 2007, was "kind of us just naturally walking away from music to focus on our acting careers and trying to really find ourselves as adult artists," AJ said.

"You know, I think we started so young, I think we kind of needed that break to recalibrate, to find our own identity outside of the band. And I think it was all meant to be."

It was no reflection on their time as chart-topping pop stars with Disney and Hollywood Records, AJ said. That time, she said, still "feels amazing. I mean, it feels like an awesome accomplishment.”

But Aly adds: “It feels like a lifetime ago.”

“It does feel like a lifetime ago," AJ said. "But I feel like it was kind of a golden age of music and we were making really incredible, top records with amazing people and we were at the forefront of writing those songs, which was unheard of at that age.

“So to be on a major label like Hollywood and to be fully accepted not only by the label but by our fans, people have just stuck with us as fans is unbelievable.

"And I feel like we built up a beautiful foundation.”

"The only thing I look back on is that we could have kept playing shows during that time. Just because I think touring is such an amazing experience, and it’s just so satisfying to be able to be on stage and have your cup filled up every night by the fans.

“But I think it was a really integral part of us growing up and finding our sound — at least our sound as adult women and not as children.

"And so I think it was all kind of meant to be, but it was really just, I think, we were kind of in the moment seeing if it worked out and wanted to work on our acting careers.

“So I’m glad we circled back to it, ‘cause it feels like we kind of never left, in a way.”

A new big acting role

Music isn't the only new work from Aly & AJ these days.

AJ has a role on the popular HBO dark comedy "The White Lotus” coming up, although she said she's not able to talk much about it.

“I am really excited," she said. "I can’t say anything about the role, unfortunately, but I am thrilled to be a part of the show. And the cast leaves for France in April, so as soon as this tour’s over, we start shooting.

“And I’m just really grateful for this opportunity and I’m really glad that [show creator/writer/director] Mike saw something in my audition that really kind of sparked his excitement to lead to casting me. It’s really cool.”

Acting will continue to be a significant part of both the sisters' lives, AJ said.

“It’s, like, when a beautiful opportunity comes your way like this and you’re passionate about the project, you take it," she said.

"And when things come your way that you’re not as excited about and you want to focus on music, you lean into music.

“It’s beautiful that we have both careers, and I never take that for granted. But there’s never a year where, like, ‘This is going to be dedicated to one career.’

"You kind of just see what comes your way and you jump on the opportunities that excite you. And if they don’t, you move on. And this happened to be one of those projects where I thought, ‘I can’t say no to this.’”

Aly added: “Acting and music will always be in our life. It’s just sometimes it will be an ebb and flow, and one thing will be taking a priority and momentum, and the other will rise to the top.

"So it’s always going to be kind of a juggle between the two. And music has really had the focus for the last, really, the last five, six years.”

'Meant for everybody'

And "Silver Deliverer" has given them a chance to repay fans for years of dedication, they said.

"I think the beauty of this particular tour [is that] we finished the ‘Silver Deliverer’ tour last year, and the reason we decided to extend the tour, even the places on the tour, was that it really symbolizes all the places we’ve never been to on tour," AJ said.

“So there are a lot of places on this particular run where we’ve never played the city, we’ve never played the venue. It’s kind a new adventure for Aly and I as a band.

“So this tour is really symbolic of all these places that our band has yet to be at. And so this tour’s been really fun because it’s just places we’ve yet to discover.”

Aly noted the pair has never played Allentown — though she said she was in the city for a movie [she didn't say which] years ago.

"I’ve never been back since," she said. "So it’s a new place to run — it’s really cool.

"We’re just excited for people to see this show. It’s something we really believe in. It’s such a fun night, when you come to an Aly and AJ show, it really is.

"So I just hope people have a really great night in Allentown, hear great music and maybe leave feeling much better than when they entered.

“And they’re going to listen to old songs and new mixed in. It’s meant for everybody.”