by Nick Christophers
Gina Jones is the type of artist that was baptized into music as she grew up around a musical family that traveled and did shows all over the state of Missouri. They even went by the band named Ozark Rhythm Aires. Gina began this journey at the tender age of nine years old. She even received her first standing ovation at that age. The band cut their first album in Arkansas.
“My siblings were in a family band, and it came naturally. I just woke up playing guitar and singing by ear one day.”
When she was fourteen, she joined forces with her brother and became a musical duo and set off on their own. They would soon sign on with Universal Records in Nashville and released a record. But being the free spirit that she is Gina went solo at nineteen and ventured into a more popular music genre at the time which was rock. She performed in various rock bands touring on the west coast in states like Idaho, Utah, North / South Dakota, and Nevada.
In the mid-twenties she moved to Nashville where she began cutting her teeth at venues like the Barbara Mandrel Theater, and Gilley’s on Music Row and downtown at Tootsies as well as in Printer’s Alley at Lonnie’s Western Room and Skull’s. At this time Gina started writing more songs and received mentoring by the Late Great Harland Howard and Vern Gosdin. She collaborated with them on writing and singing songs into publishing at the Paul Ritchie Music Group. Not long afterward she linked up with a touring band called Nashville Country Music Review who opened for several key acts.
Two most memorable venues that Gina performed, the first being when she was nine years old and the second was years later in 2015 in Idaho. The latter was where she won a Battle of the Bands contest via a voting poll on Facebook. Gina’s talent was gaining recognition and respect as she opened at the Mountain Home Country Music Festival’s star-studded lineup that included, Blake Shelton, Brad Paisley, and Florida Georgia Line. Gina has penned many lyrics over the years, some are funny, others about loving one in another but most of all songs that are inspirational.
“I did not start working on inspirational lyrics until I went through some rough times in my life. I was raised an atheist when I was a child and stayed that course until I had a brush with death overdosing on meth and cocaine early one morning. I was dying in my bedroom, and I heard a voice speak to my spirit that said “Get on Your Knees and Pray for the Desire to do Drugs to Leave You” I did what the voice said, and my breath came back into my body. I got up and dumped all the drugs I had on my table in the toilet and flushed it after having an $1500 a week habit in nineties. I never touched it again. I never had the desire again. After that I accepted God into my life “I began dreaming inspirational songs getting up and writing them.”
Since 2023 Gina has been on a mission to expose her talents even more. She worked on and released a film made in New York called “My Story” by Celebrity Films which chronicles her life and the drama and tragedy that surrounded it. It is available on Amazon Prime. In addition, she started her own label and build up her presence as an Indie Nashville Artist with distribution and promotion by Universal, Virgin, Intercept Music where she dropped a song and video called “Saturday Night Sinner”. The track gained over 45,000 Spotify streams and over 363,000 listens on YouTube. That specific track is up for 10 more Indie Awards from ISSA to FPCM UK Awards and has already won two WSA and EMAs awards.
https://youtu.be/ivHXcdM0ErQ?si=sXJdONJc43n8di8b
Her current release “Can You Save Me” was written by Gina along with Nashville’s MuzikMafia – Damien Horne and has already gained over 4500 listens on YouTube and over four thousand streams in less than a week. She is up for two- awards in Hollywood for the Amazon Prime “My Story” video they did about her life and the Lisa Nichols Book she Co- Authored.
Speaking of books, Gina released a book about her life experiences called “Madame of Music Row” that became an Amazon Beat Seller in 2024 which is something everyone should read. It is based on true events that offer the light and the dark side Gina lived through. From being a teen runaway, child bride, promising musician to dealing with domestic abuse and being pushed into the world of drugs and prostitution not to mention facing attempted murder. Yet she still found the strength to escape that hell and surviving is truly inspirational. She was what they termed as a modern-day outlaw that without searching deep in her soul for salvation she may never have made it.
https://www.amazon.com/MyStory/dp/B0CVZQ851G?dplnkId=74b1bfe0-3bc9-4dee-afb8-1c82f54aae44&nodl=1
“I have known for a long time that I was supposed to write a book. It has been a calling to talk about my life story so that I can witness to the very worst of circumstances and people in those situations of life. I use it as a tool to help pull people up. I believe in putting my hand out to lift people of all walks of life, not putting a foot down on them to keep them down. Loving people into a better life is what life is supposed to be about not judging them and throwing them away.”
So far, Gina has had the pleasure of performing and speaking about her tragic yet lifesaving journey on programs like Amazon Prime, Fox News, Nevada’s KPVM News and featured in magazines such as Salt Lake Weekly and Fair Play Country Music Awards UK. Also, she has traveled to universities as a speaker being the real live EX- Ho to university campuses with the Tik Tok Viral Sensation Sister Cindy to preach the Ho No Mo Revolution. Gina is always looking to expand her talents and horizons while offering to shine her light whether it be via music, writing or public speaking always sharing her experiences to lift others or at least inspire them in a positive way.
