When Calgary musicians Tegan & Sara were still in high school

These days, Canadian music fans know the pop band formed by a pair ofCalgary identical twinsas Tegan & Sara.

But back in April 1998, when local teens mostly concerned themselves with "final exams and graduation," CBCCalgary reporter Brent Kawchukintroduced the sistersto viewers a littledifferently.

"For 17-year-old twins Sara and TeganQuin, their thoughts are starting to turn toward a career in music,"said Kawchukas he stood in front of a high school.

You might say they made it. Tegan & Sara's 2007 releaseThe Con will be one of five albums up for discussion in the forthcoming Canada Listens: CBC Music's great music debate.

'Absolutely wonderful'

The Quins, seen singing and playingtheir instrumentstogether in a casual setting,had begun"writing songs and learning how to play guitar"two and a half years earlier, said Kawchuck. Then they enteredGarage Wars, a local battle of the bands.

"We're like two little 17-year-old kids, sitting up there, and saying what we want to say, and we don't have anything to hide behind," said Tegan, who described the experience as "very, very, very intimidating."

Sarasaid the judges in the contest which they had won with the highest marks in its seven-year history had maybe seen "a sparkle ... that can get to be something bigger."

• CBC NEWS | Tegan and Sara to produce TV series based on their High School memoir

Mike Bell, a judge of the competition and music editor atFast Forward, a Calgary weekly, said he'd been instantly won over by the pair.

"I'm not really known for liking things," said Bell. "But I see nothing but potential. They're absolutely wonderful."

In 1999Tegan & Sara released their first album, Under Feet Like Ours. According to CBC Radio's The Next Chapter, their ninth album dropped in 2019 the same year they publishedtheir memoir, calledHigh School.