Monday, June 24, 2019

Gigi Love, Amtrak's Rails And Trails Troubadour

By Robert Cox


Going on long distance excursions by train can often be a great experience. When on board a train with Gigi Love, a rails and trails troubadour, it can be even more so. For, the singer-songwriter visits parks, writes songs, then performs on a number of different Amtrak routes across the country.

While singing onboard is one aspect of the joint program, Gigi, having visited over 2 dozen parks where the singer-songwriter absorbed the surroundings, learned the history and wrote songs is an even bigger aspect. In fact, a number of songs are included on a full length album titled National Parks Centennial Songs. According to the Acoustic Outpost, a few songs which topped the 100 songs from Folk stations between 2016 and 2017.

Later, the singer-songwriter performed on four different trips in the Summer and Fall of 2017. While visiting several National parks, the artist once again thrilled travelers with acoustic guitar and vocals. Whereas, on this tour, Gigi also performed in a number of the parks.

Love's songs are often honest, bluesy songs with a folk twist which describe the singer-songwriter's travels, dreams and vision quests. Most often, songs written and performed by the artist whether onboard a train or at a park, capture the attention of audiences by taking listeners on a musical journey. Born and raised in Texas, Gigi began singing at the age of 7, then by age 12 was performing in numerous Texas venues.

If the artist's name sounds familiar, it could be due to performing at the Olympic Closing Ceremonies held in Salt Lake or opening for the Dave Matthews Band at the Columbia River Gorge. Based largely on the singer songwriter's performance at the Winter Olympics, Freedom Zone picked up the artist, the same company which represents Mountain Dew. After which, Love toured areas of the country west of the Mississippi and Texas, thus gaining airplay on community and college radio stations around the United States.

The singer-songwriter has also debuted at the New England Regional Folk Alliance's Suzi Wollenberg Folk DJ Showcase. In addition, the artist has continued to open for well known artists since first appearing at the Olympics. One of a number of artists for which the singer has now opened for is that of Utah Phillips. After which, Love created a rendition of Utah's song "Going Away, " which can be heard on Pandora radio.

Love has also performed at a number of folk festivals including Desert Rocks, Arise, Moab and Kate Wolf. Upon networking with other artists at these events, the singer songwriter has more recently appeared alongside Christine Lavin, John Gorka and Tim Reynolds. As such, the artist will most likely see more airplay and be invited to perform at more festivals in the future, folk or otherwise.

If interested in booking or finding more information on Gigi, the NPS rails and trails program or other info, visit the artist website at gigilove dot com slash national-parks-songwriting-project-and-bio-2017. Love's ultimate mission and message works to care for, and preserve the parks by promoting causes which result in clean water and air for all living beings.




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