During the decade of alternative music, the exposure and popularity of folk has been on the rise and at its forefront stand Amy Ray and Emily Saliers, better known as the Indigo Girls.

In the group’s 12 years together, the Indigo Girls have grown musically from the 1985 debut single, “Crazy Game” to a platinum album, “Rites Of Passage.” And, while producing music award-winning albums, the folk duo has toured almost non-stop.

Currently, the Indigo Girls are on tour in support of the latest release, “Shaming of the Sun.” The release, with its “street-talk poetry and language on fire,” is what the duo’s label, Epic, describes as the Indigo Girls’ most ambitious album with help from Steve Earle, violinist Lisa Germano and Native American vocal ensemble Ulali.

However, the Indigo Girls are about more than making music. What the duo may be the most notarized for is their support of humanities.

Since 1989 they have worked in conjunction with several humanitary groups including Habitat For Humanity with Joan Baez and Mary Chapin-Carpenter, a Children’s Health Fund benefit with Paul Simon and the Native American land rights with Jackson Browne and Burce Cockburn.

On top of raising money and support for causes they believe in, the Indigo Girls launched the largest single fund-raising effort in the history of Native American Activism with their 1995 “Honor The Earth Tour.”

During this time, the Indigo Girls have also released six full-length albums, several singles, toured as club headliners and as the opener for R.E.M. and Neil Young.

The duo has also been up for five Grammy Award nominations, has been voted for the Best Contemporary Folk Recording and has made appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and the Late Show with David Letterman.

The Indigo Girls have remained productive while touring “Shaming of the Sun.” During this tour, Ray and Saliers are participating in a nationwide talent search among junior high and high school students.

The search, sponsored by Scholastic Inc., is for the best young lyric writer. The winner wins the school the right to host a special concert by the Indigo Girls.

The “Shaming of the Sun” tour will be making three stops in Iowa this week including tonight’s performance at Stephens Auditorium at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets for tonight’s performance are sold out and limited seating is available through all TicketMaster locations for tomorrow night’s performance in Cedar Rapids and the Dec. 10 performance in Decorah.