Tegan and Sara

Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin were born on September 19th, 1980, in Calgary, Alberta. The identical twins’ formative years seemed to be entirely free of musical aspirations; Tegan harbored dreams of eventually becoming a clown or working as a veterinarian, while Sara wanted to be a lawyer when she grew up. Both girls did possess a certain passion for music, however, and that passion manifested as a preternatural ability for songwriting and playing instruments.

The two got their start at the age of 15, when Sara got her hands on her mother’s boyfriend’s guitar. Even though they had taken piano lessons as children, the pair had never taken the idea of pursuing music as a career seriously until they started learning the guitar. Tegan and Sara eschewed formal training in favor of a self-taught approach, and though they cut their teeth on covers, the two quickly began writing their own songs and performing them for friends and family.