Hickory – This Friday, May 11, the City of Hickory’s Sails Original Music Series will feature Gigi Dover and The Big Love, who describe themselves as offering “world music thru the eyes and ears of southerners.” Incorporating the sounds and vibes of world instruments, Gigi Dover and The Big Love deliver a fresh, palatable blend of gypsy, jazzy, bluesy, funky southern soul, and world music.

“Gigi Dover is an Americana mainstay. She’s a southern, sultry songstress – half bohemian snake charmer, half siren,” says Bob Sinclair, event coordinator for the Sails Original Music Series. “From her times with the Rank Outsiders, to her many years as collaborator and partner with Eric Lovell, this stylish songstress knows precisely what she’s doing as a writer, a performer, and as an advocate for keeping the ‘real’ in music.”

Gigi Dover and Eric Lovell’s seventh studio recording, Travelin’ Thru, has been in radio rotation since its release in June 2016, and reached No. 41 on WNCW’s Top 100 of 2016. Created and recorded in their own Blu Bubble Studios in Charlotte, N.C., Travelin’ Thru is a collection of songs and a few short whimsical instrumentals, more wood than steel, designed to inspire the listener to “dance, meditate, or anything in between.”

Gigi Dover and The Big Love have toured and performed gigs both regionally and internationally throughout the United States, the U.K., and Europe, garnering them recognition and success from fans, peers, and critics alike.

The Sails Original Music Series is able to bring excellent musical entertainment from all over the United States with the help of numerous sponsors. The presenting sponsor of the series is Lowes Foods, while the Hickory Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau is the premier sponsor for the month of May, in conjunction with their 31 Days of May Campaign, celebrating tourism in North Carolina.

The Hickory Wine Shoppe is the premier sponsor for the month of September. Additional sponsors include: Bob Sinclair Music, Larry’s Music & Sound, Pfahlert Creative Labs, Olde Hickory Brewery, and Crowne Plaza. Media partners include WNNC 1230 AM/WAIZ 63 Big Ways, WNCW 88.7FM, and FOCUS Newspaper.

The show begins at 6:30 pm and audience members are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets. Olde Hickory Brewery will sell beer in designated areas, and there are a variety of close-by restaurants to patronize.

The Sails Original Music Series will feature live music under the Sails on the Square in Downtown Hickory every Friday evening in May, June, and September, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

For more information about the Sails Original Music Series and upcoming bands, please visit the Sails Music Series Facebook page – www.facebook.com/SailsMusic.

Gigi Dover and The Big Love