Miranda Love

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BY SEAN M c ALINDIN

Growing up in the suburban South Bay community of Los Gatos, Miranda Love put on concerts in her childhood bedroom, emulating idols of the day such as Celine Dion and Whitney Houston.

After school, she rode a bike to her family’s horse barn where the only radio station that came in was contemporary country. e sounds of Martina McBride, Faith Hill and Sara Evans reverberated through the air as she stacked hay and cleaned stables. Even though she never performed for anyone but herself, Love always knew deep down that she wanted to be a singer.

“ e bigger the voice, the more I was entranced by it,” she says. “ ere’s something special about hearing a strong female vocalist take over a song.”

Two days after graduating high school, she learned she was pregnant.

“I had just nished my last obligation as a child so to speak,” says Love “I had two days of looking at endless possibilities before all of that went away. It shattered a lot of plans and dreams.”

Unsure of what to do, she started Mira Wedding Events and Designs, which she continues to run to this day.

“I was 21 years old with two kids under the age of two,” says Love. “I didn’t know how to do anything, so I gured it out. I guess that’s how I’ve always been.”

Love relocated to Cave Creek, Ariz., where the Mexican side of her family lives. Occasionally, wedding events would bring her to Lake Tahoe. Every time she visited; she didn’t want to leave.

“How cool would it be if when my kids grow up, I’d still be young enough to pursue a career in music?” she secretly thought.

At the age of 30, this dream came true. On the mend from a broken heart, she moved to South Lake Tahoe with her children. Love began to set annual goals for her music career. In 2017, she had learned how to play guitar. In 2018, she started going to open mics and performing in front of her new friends.

Love is now working with Ciccone at Tahoe Production House on a debut EP, which she hopes to release by the end of the year, followed by a 2022 tour of West Coast ski towns starting and ending, ttingly, in her new home town.

“I wish I had had some time to grow up,” she says. “I went from being a teenager to a mother in an instant. I didn’t feel like I had much direction. It’s because of my opportunity to move up here that I’ve been able to learn more about who I am as a person and a mother. All of that has circled me back to what I wanted at 16 years old: to be a singer. I have no more shame in that now. I want to be a musician. at’s why I’m doing it as aggressively and unapologetically as I can. I never had a chance. But it’s better late than never, right?” | mirandaraelove.com, mirawed.com n

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“Everyone was like, ‘You really need to keep doing this,’” she says. “When you’re a kid with stars in your eyes, of course, you want to do it. But it’s di erent when you’re an adult with mouths to feed and bills to pay. It took me so long to get back into what I love. I never thought I’d be able to pursue it, to be honest.” “ If you’re not singing truth, then why the hell are you singing? I wanted to connect with women in this universal struggle to fi nd our own self-worth and be proud of who we are.” –Miranda Love

In 2019, she found a band. South Lake musicians Je Connor, Tommy Ciccone, Chili Munroe and Kyle Kirchubel have provided emotional and musical support for Love ever since.

“ ey believe in me in a way that’s hard for someone to believe in themselves,” she says.

In 2020, Love released two original songs. “You’re Gone From Here” is a neosoul slow burner about ghting for love even when things don’t work out. “Made of Gold” is a piano ballad that speaks to recognizing your own inherent value even when no one else will.

“If you’re not singing truth, then why the hell are you singing?” says Love. “I wanted to connect with women in this universal struggle to nd our own self-worth and be proud of who we are.”

Love’s voice shines with a grace and power that can only come from a woman who has lived, loved, fallen and gotten up again. At the end of the track, her now 12year-old daughter sings the closing refrain.

“It’s a nod to everyone’s inner child that still exists,” says Love. “It’s a time capsule.”

Sean McAlindin is a writer and musician living in Truckee, who loves a secret powder stash just as much as a good jam. You can reach him at entertainment@tahoethisweek.com. Other writings and original music are available at seanmcalindin.com.

WordWave winner Nicole DeSalle. | Courtesy Valhalla Tahoe

WordWave, a Festival of Story at Lake Tahoe, will be presented at Valhalla’s Tahoe Boathouse Theatre from Oct. 21 to 23. Each winner of the WordWave OneAct Play Competition will have her or his play fully produced each night, and the writers of the plays will be in attendance to answer questions.

The winners are Susan Boulanger, Nicole DeSalle and Peter McDonough. More than 100 playwrights submitted fresh works for consideration. From the entries, local thespians and directors picked three plays to be read for the fi rst time at Lake Tahoe.

Boulanger, an award-winning director, actor, producer and educator from Los Angeles will present her comedy “Out, Damn COVID Audition.”

“Big Top Love,” written by DeSalle, explores the motivations behind our dreams through the experiences of Travis and Lydia who meet at a Chicago cafe and learn they both are seeking thrills they hope will bring joy to their lives.

McDonough’s entry, “The Process,” fi nds fi rst-grade teacher Sarah Chapman reliving the events of a specifi c day with the help of a counselor. The women painstakingly unearth the truth, forcing the audience to confront a chilling threat from which no one is immune. | valhallatahoe.showare.com