The Music And Stories Of Gigi Love

By Melissa Scott


Trails & Rails is a program that was started by the National Park Service and Amtrak together in cooperation. The aim of this program is to devise a way that people can enjoy the wonders of nature that can be found in national parks in a way that is comfortable and convenient: on a train ride. Gigi Love performs on these trains as well as at location at national parks across the country.

Between the years of 2015 and 2017, this modern troubadour spent her time traveling to over twenty national parks in different parts of the country. While she was there, she was focused on learning everything she could about her surroundings including the history and the general vibe of the area. Through the process of taking many notes, she was able to use her observations as a basis for many of the songs that appear in National Parks Centennial Songs.

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.

Gigi's place of birth was Dallas, Texas, and that is where she was raised and was first introduced to music. It didn't take her long for her to get her start. After learning how to sing and play the guitar when she was seven, she quickly went on to play at a number of prestigious local venues by age twelve.

Her name recognition comes from the many big performances she has given in recent years. These have received a lot of media attention and exposure to the public from the huge audiences that were there to see her or saw the performance broadcasted. Some of the big venues she's played include opening for the Dave Matthews Band at the Columbia River Gorge, and the Winter Olympic Closing Ceremonies in Salt Lake.

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.

This particular album and project was always about Love's passion for these beautiful parks. She wanted to use the power of songwriting and use it to convey the beauty, history, and importance of these natural wonders. By performing this music that she has specifically crafted for each park in the parks themselves, she has effectively created a soundtrack for nature.

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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