How Gigi Love Got Her Start

By Melissa Scott


In the Trails & Rails program, a coordinated effort between Amtrak and the National Park Service, this is the very first troubadour to be a part of the organization. As a way of exposing people to the amazing wonders that any national park has to offer, Trails & Rails combines long-distance train rides with breathtaking views and amazing travel destination in national parks. These are the main places where Gigi Love performs her music that is perfectly suited to the environment.

Love's devotion to these beautiful parks led her on a journey that lasted for two years from 2015 to 2017. On this journey, she went to over twenty national parks so that she could see for herself the beauty that was there, and so that she could learn as much as she could about the communities and history. Taking plenty of notes along the way, she was able to create from her experiences a number of the songs that are on National Parks Centennial Songs, her full-length album.

People who listen to her songs say that they feel transported to a different place. Because her lyrics are often depicting the many travels she has gone on, the songs themselves often feel like a journey. In her music, Gigi has a way of making the listener see what she sees and go with her on this journey.

Dallas is the place where many great musicians got their start, and it is the place where Gigi was born and grew up. When she was seven, she knew she wanted to sing and play guitar, and got right to playing and practice as much as she could. By the time she was twelve, she was already performing at some big-name place.

The name recognition of this artist comes from some of the big venues that she has had the opportunity to play. A lot of people might recognize her from when she performed at the Closing Ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake. She is also known for her opening performance for the Dave Matthews Band.

The NRFA gave Love her debut at a Folk DJ Showcase for Suzi Wollenberg in 2016. She has also toured with Kate McLeod, as well as the band Burns on the Plush. This is a Utah Phillips cover band that she toured with alongside Duncan Phillips, and her voice perfectly fits into these songs.

Gigi discovered her passion for national parks, and shortly after came her beautiful songs as a tribute to them. She decided that she would take it upon herself to write music that told the story of these places with the hopes that people will have a greater appreciation for them. When hearing her perform in these parks, it can be heard and felt just how perfectly the songs fit the parks.

When Gigi performed at Yosemite and a rock climber offered to sell her his mandolin for $25 so that he could have the gas money to get home, she didn't know it would be a pivotal moment in her career. She bought the mandolin, and then took it up into the El Capitan Meadow. There, she sat and wrote her first national park song: Yosemite Gold.




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