If the name Gigi Love sounds familiar, perhaps it’s because you were among the thousands of people listening to her open for the Dave Matthews Band at the Columbia River Gorge or playing for the Salt Lake Winter Olympics, Closing Ceremonies. You may have seen her singing her National Parks Centennial Songs in many of the national parks that she has been invited to perform in since 2016. Gigi is an advocate for wilderness, love and world peace through her music. She is committed to raising awareness about beautiful places such as America's Red Rock Wilderness in Utah and collaborates with many other artists to bring these issues to the public. Gigi writes bluesy, honest, storytelling songs that depict her travels, love for wilderness and hope for humanity; songs that enrapture her audiences and take them on a musical journey. Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Gigi began playing the guitar and singing at age seven. At twelve she was performing at major venues around the Texas such as Johnny High’s Country Music Review in Ft. Worth, the Grapevine Opry and the Stephenville Opry House. Those early years gave her the experience and faith to pursue her music career full time and to live the life of a true troubadour.
Was there something (an experience) or someone in your life that was the "catalyst" for you to start writing or performing music? Tell us about it.
Loretta Lynn was one of my biggest inspirations. When I was 12 years old, I saw the movie Coal Miners Daughter and I loved how her and Dolittle went to all of the radio stations in person to promote her music. I also saw her live at Billy Bobs in Fort Worth. Her songs told stories about her life, political issues, women's issues and love. She made songwriting look easy.
Let's get this out of the way. What is the CRAZIEST thing that has ever happened to you in your music career?
Getting chosen to play for the Closing Ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics was one of the CRAZIEST things that has happened to me in my music career. Out of 90 applicants, I was picked and I didn't even know that I was on the list because a friend submitted my name and music without telling me. There were 52,000 people there. I played 2 songs live and it was wild!
What has been the high point of your music path?
Singing in the national parks has been a dream come true and definitely a high point of my musical journey. I performed for the 100th Anniversary of the Grand Canyon in 2019. It's so amazing to be in a place like the Grand Canyon, singing a song I wrote for that park and looking out at an audience of people from all over the planet who are just so enraptured with the beauty all around us.
So, how do you approach songwriting or what is your creative process like?
Songwriting is such a mysterious and intimate process for me. I usually go on a hike or jump in a lake, get real high on nature and then just drop into my heart. There may be uncomfortable feelings stirring in me like grief or anger and I will just start strumming my guitar and humming a feeling...for me feelings have a hum. Then the words come and I probably go over it a hundred times to get it right.
What do you see as the biggest challenge facing Indie Artists today? Or, if you could ask the music industry to change one thing, what would it be?
Artist are dying from exposure! It's the double edged sword of the digital music industry these days. Exposure is great but if we are only making pennies on a play, we can't pay our bills or put gas in the car to tour. Not having the residual income of selling CD's at shows because people can now listen for almost free has been hard as well. It feels like our art has been so devalued. I would ask the music industry to allow people to stream just a few songs from an artist, for a small few, and then require that they buy the full album.
If you could share the stage with one other artist or band, who would it be and why?
Anders Osborne is one of my favorite songwriters and performers. He is amazing solo, and blows the doors down with a full band. I would love love love to share the stage with him somewhere in New Orleans and have him play some wicked lead guitar on one of my folk rock songs.
Pick one song that was your greatest challenge to write. Tell us about it!
Glacier Symphony from my National Parks Centennial Songs album was a challenging song to bring forth. I was touring all of the parks and writing songs about the beauty and grandeur of these wild places and mostly it was easy and inspiring. The difference with Glacier is that all of the glaciers are melting fast and it's a sign of global warming and big changes coming to the planet. I had to face the reality of that, and then on the back of a horse, riding through a Montana meadow in the rain, the song came to me. The horse really connected me to the land and then I was able to see the beauty and how nature was always changing. The glaciers melting is just another change we will observe and navigate as it comes.
For fans who have never heard your music, can you pick three words to describe it?! If three words just aren't enough, then tell us more!
Connection, Intimacy and "Seeking the Mystery" as the writer Ken Kesey would say.
What is your favorite part about being an artist? Is it songwriting, performing, recording, something else? Tell us why
There are so many great things about being an artist, it's like eating a yummy pizza and all of the ingredients make it tasty. Writing is a deep creative process that needs silence, time and commitment, but when the song is finished I can't wait to share it with people. Performing and being in the recording studio are my two favorite things to do as an artist.
Okay, this a fun question. When you are not doing music, what else do you enjoy doing?
I'm a certified Hypnotherapist and I love helping people go into their subconscious mind and solve deeper problems, face fears and set goals for their future. Hypnosis is like storytelling and songwriting. It uses the imagination to get to know yourself better and even uncover hidden feelings and fears. I also love doing yoga and have my 500 hour kundalini teacher training. Yoga and music festivals, traveling and being in nature are definitely at the top of my list for living a good life.
What's coming up in the future for you?
I'd like to go into the recording studio this year. There's a few new and old songs that have been haunting me lately and I feel like it's time to get them out into the world. I am looking forward to performing at Devils Tower National Monument, my 6th year there and maybe even singing in Europe.
Learn more about Gigi on her website.
Find their music videos on YouTube