I was 10 years old, playing Bratz: Rock Angelz on my PlayStation when I first heard Aly & AJ sing, “Don’t let nobody tell you your life is over / Be every color that you are.” I “Rush”-ed to download that track (see what I did there?) because I just needed to listen to it on repeat on my pink iPod mini.
Some of us were on a video game adventure when we met Aly and AJ Michalka for the first time. Others may remember discovering them on the Disney Channel in the early 2000s, seeing their faces on TV after school. And then there are those who found them through their music much later.
Two decades since the beginning of their careers, it feels like a full-circle moment to sit with the sisters in conversation for BUST, not just revisiting a memory, but reflecting on the evolution we’ve witnessed.
From Into The Rush to their latest records Silver Deliverer and Even More Silver, that evolution in sound is undeniable. But growth can go beyond the music–and that’s something their longtime listeners may need to be reminded of. “Fans will tell us, ‘We grew up with you,’” AJ says laughing. “And Aly and I always joke, we’re like, ‘We grew up with you, too.’ We’re all collectively living this life together. There’s a give to the relationship on both sides.”
Aly and AJ are indeed maturing, constantly learning, and figuring out what works best for them, as a duo and as individuals. A prime example being when Aly became a mother. Her son, Jack, now often joins the band on tour, adding a new rhythm to life between shows. Balancing it all is a work in progress, one that is very much grounded in intention and in family. “I think it helps that there’s so much family out on the road,” says Aly, “between AJ, my husband, [and] also my sister-in-law coming out to help, it feels like a very safe place.”
For AJ, seeing life through the eyes of her almost-two-year-old nephew has reframed her perspective too. “He’s taught us so much,” she says. “It’s kind of like when you take a kid to Disneyland for the first time–Aly and I have been a million times, but when you go with a kid, you’re almost seeing it in a new way. And I feel like that’s the way I’ve now been looking at life with Jack, especially on the road.”
Even though so much has shifted, some things also remain beautifully unchanged. On the tour bus for instance, there’s an unspoken familiarity: AJ always takes the left bunk and Aly the right. It’s been that way for years. Before every show, the two singers have a backstage ritual too: their handshake. They admit that they are typically not “super precious” before stepping on stage, but that handshake is non-negotiable. As AJ puts it, it represents their “connection as sisters. It’s the special sauce.”
But the ritual doesn’t end there. At every concert, Aly & AJ also make space for the causes they care about. They take a moment on stage to highlight one of the nonprofits they work with. Over the years, they’ve had longstanding partnerships with The Trevor Project to support the LGBTQ+ youth, they also worked with organizations such as March Fourth, Everytown and Sandy Hook Promise to advocate for gun reform–a cause that hits close to home for the band.
In April 2022, they survived a mass shooting, a scary experience that later shaped their song “Sirens”. “We made a pact not long after that,” AJ says, “that we would do whatever we could to talk about gun reform on stage and to get our fans just feeling empowered about this subject matter.” That’s why when asked what compels them to move from caring about an issue to speaking out about it, AJ doesn’t hesitate to say, “For us, it’s just personal experience and driving that knowledge forward.”
In many ways, the stage for Aly and AJ is just one expression of how they choose to show up–as artists, advocates and storytellers. And for nearly as long as they’ve been making music, the sisters have also built careers in front of the camera. Balancing the two has never been about choosing one over the other. “Aly and I, because we both love acting and music, we kind of take it as it comes,” says AJ. “Why put a pause on life when life just comes to you, and you can say yes or no, depending on what you’re able to give to that piece of art in that moment.”
Over time, music and acting have learned to coexist and actually never got in the way of each other. When Aly and AJ are focused on making an album and touring for it, their energy shifts fully towards music. When an acting opportunity calls, it takes the lead. It’s rarely simultaneous and the timing just simply always works. “It’s all about embracing the seasons,” Aly says. “There are seasons where music is in the front seat. And then seasons where the acting projects are in the front seat.”
That flow has brought peace to the sisters, rather than pressure. They believe music is where they feel most grounded–a space where their sisterhood and creative control are most present. But acting remains an essential part of their lives too.
In fact, the next chapter is already unfolding in the world of acting; AJ is set to join the cast of The White Lotus for its fourth season. An exciting opportunity that feels so right.
At the same time, the duo are hitting the road for their Places to Run tour. Running until the end of the year, it is building on the momentum of Silver Deliverer, this time expanding beyond major U.S. cities to bring the music to fans in new places. “We’ve been touring now for so long, it feels like a second home for us,” Aly says. “We just have a killer band, an amazing crew. It feels like an extended family for us, so we just wanted to keep this going in 2026.”
When asked if there was anything they wanted to add at the end of our conversation, the sisters were excited to invite BUST readers to come see an Aly & AJ concert for themselves. AJ describes it as “a really giving environment,” and Aly adds that “the energy in the room is always really really positive”. And having caught Aly & AJ live during their A Touch of the Beat era, I can confirm: it’s a really uplifting experience. There’s a unique sense of togetherness and it’s clear that the joy onstage mirrors the energy in the crowd.
At one point during Aly & AJ’s set, the band slows things down and the duo pick up acoustic guitars to play songs from their debut album. This is a moment introduced during the Silver Deliverer tour and now carried over into the Places to Run tour. It’s a wink to the fans who have been there since the beginning, but also an invitation for newer listeners to understand where the story started.
While the sisters may find themselves part of the Y2K renaissance wave, they were never meant to live in a time capsule. Instead they’ve grown into artists rooted in their voice. “I think that when you hear our music, it doesn’t feel like it’s some grand departure, but it definitely feels like it’s changed, it’s evolved,” Aly says. “It’s not just taking you back to those early 2000s. And I think it’s in a good way. I think it’s encouraging people to also listen to music that maybe they wouldn’t normally engage with. I think that’s good in all senses of any kind of art form.”
