Indigo Girls and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra make a golden team at Bradley Center concert

"It's so fun," Indigo Girls' Amy Ray said following the 13th song of their latest Milwaukee concert Saturday night.

"Fun and nerve-wracking at the same time. My favorite combination."

Indigo Girls are some of the most road-tested artists, but the stakes for this gig were different, with Ray and fellow Girls singer-songwriter Emily Saliers performing at a sold-out Bradley Symphony Center supported by the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.

Nerves were understandable, but of course Indigo Girls, as Ray and Saliers made clear Saturday, were in great hands with the MSO, under the guidance of the orchestra's new assistant conductor Ryan Tani. And the MSO in turn was in great hands with the seminal folk rockers, a year shy of their 40th anniversary, who led them through 18 gems across two acts and 95 minutes. For the diehard fans that filled the concert hall — including one seated next to me who flew in from Seattle — Girls with the Milwaukee Symphony may have become their favorite combination.

The symphonic accompaniments, smartly arranged by Sean O'Loughlin and Stephen Barber, consistently let Ray and Saliers' voices and words lead the way. There were exceptions, like for "Yoke," with the suspenseful, Bernard Herrmann-inspired strings making the first impression, as on the 2011 studio recording — with the full force of the orchestra heightening the drama and lending more weight to Ray's urgent vocals.

And once in a while, the orchestra got out of the way completely — like a spine-tingling moment during "Virginia Woolf" where lush strings suddenly stopped, as Saliers' gorgeous and gentle acoustic guitar lines took command, the radiance growing from the orchestra's gentle rebuild.

Even when the orchestra was more pronounced, there was still a sense of restraint, to splendid effect, physically manifested in Tani's demeanor, far calmer than his exuberant conducting for the Violent Femmes' MSO show last October.

There was a dramatic driving force fueling 2011's "Damo," penned in tribute to a dear friend in Ireland and evoking the folk music of his homeland. But even when the song galloped toward heroic bursts of horns, Ray's simple but stirring mandolin strikes and passionate belting of uplifting lines like "In my heart I'm strong enough to grow" stood tall above everything else.

And for Saturday highlight "Ghost," like "Woolf" from 1992's "Rites of Passage" album, Saliers' gorgeous instrument of a voice steadily grew stronger — from Ray's nourishing vocal harmonies and enriching countermelodies, from a romantic, cathartic arrangement ushered in by golden strokes of a harp — the emotion building, building, building until Saliers' voice soared through angelic, wordless singing. But what made that performance especially moving was the tragic juxtaposition of Saliers' words, desperately yearning for an unrequited love that will haunt and torment her, against the happily-ever-after suggested by such musical splendor.

The MSO smartly never overshadowed Indigo Girls, but Saliers made it clear they were open to a little more from their Milwaukee fans. Splendid a venue as the refurbished Bradley Symphony Center is, audiences at a rock and symphonic pairing can be a bit shy, so perhaps to settle their own nerves, Saliers invited fans to sing along, just in time for fourth song "Power of Two" from 1994's "Swamp Ophelia."

But even for "Two" and for a couple other songs Saturday, the singalongs were reserved. Yet once "Galileo," also from "Passage," appeared 16 songs deep, any self-consciousness from the crowd was shattered. No doubt inspired by Ray and Saliers' shimmies at the start of the song, a few fans came down to the edge of the stage to dance. Then one of them turned to the crowd and gestured for everyone to get on their feet, and emboldened fans went wild. The symphony, the Girls' voices and singing from the crowd surged together as one, as scores of fans took to the aisles and crowded around the stage to hug and dance, ushers desperately buzzing around trying to enforce the no filming policy. It was spectacular, destined to be a core memory for the celebrants — and fans continued to sing loudly and crowd around the stage for the last two songs that followed, 1999's "Go" and Barbie's favorite singalong, the classic "Closer to Fine."

Lovely as the symphony was, effusive as Ray and Saliers were, it was the crowd's passionate singing that owned the finale. And I can't say for sure, but I'd wager Ray, admittedly nervous about five songs prior, was feeling more than fine at that moment.

5 takeaways from Indigo Girls' Milwaukee concert

• Alas there was no encore from Indigo Girls Saturday, who also didn't play any songs sans orchestra. But to be fair, "Fine" at the end was going to be hard to top.

• Any diehard fans Saturday who had memorized every note of 2018 album “Indigo Girls Live with the University of Colorado Symphony Orchestra” were treated to something new, a symphonic rendition of 2020 track “Change My Heart.” This was just the third such performance of the song, Saliers said — a revelation she made in case they messed it up. But the performance went off without a hitch.

• Ray also let the audience in on a pre-show ritual: before Saturday’s show, she did some yoga.

• Saturday's lighting was simple and unobtrusive but there was one standout touch: During "Howl at the Moon," a white spotlight hovered against the back wall near the ceiling.

• Indigo Girls have not revealed plans to be back in Wisconsin soon, although they will co-headline Ravinia not too far away in Highland Park, Illinois, with Melissa Etheridge Aug. 11. And they're the subject of a new documentary, "Indigo Girls: It's Only Life After All" that will be available for streaming May 7.

Indigo Girls' Bradley Symphony Center set list

1. "Become You"

2. "Mystery"

3. "Compromise"

4. "Power Of Two"

5. "Sugar Tongue"

6. "Change My Heart"

7. "Damo"

8. "Ghost"

9. "Fugitive"

10. "The Wood Song"

11. "Howl At The Moon"

12. "Come A Long Way"

13. "Yoke"

14. "Virginia Woolf"

15. "Kid Fears"

16. "Galileo"

17. "Go"

18. "Closer To Fine"

Contact Piet at (414) 223-5162 or plevy@journalsentinel.com. Follow him on X at @pietlevy or Facebook at facebook.com/PietLevyMJS.

Editor’s note: This review was updated to correct the spelling of Emily Saliers’ name.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Indigo Girls, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra golden together in concert