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Village Music Cafe, an intimate entertainment center nestled in Palm Beach Florida, used to be the place where Gigi Perez <\/a>would debut her most personal records. On Thursdays, she would bring her latest works to the showcase that helped build the stage presence she now displays on festival stages and during her own headlining tours. The location holds precious memories for Perez, who returned there to shoot the short film Back to the Beach<\/em>, which celebrates her being named Vevo\u2019s 2026 DSCVR Artist of the Year.<\/p>\n The honor previously presented to Rene\u00e9 Rapp and Chappell Roan has now been bestowed on the singer-songwriter, who performs \u201cFable\u201d in the warm setting of Village Music Cafe and \u201cSugar Water\u201d down by the beach in the film. \u201cOne day, I drove by the mall and I saw that there was an open mic. Ever since that day that I walked through the doors, the owners, Steve and Donna, took me in as their own kid, their musical child,\u201d Perez says. \u201cIt gave me a certain kind of confidence, especially with the environment of encouragement to continue to share the music.\u201d<\/p>\n More from Rolling Stone<\/strong><\/p>\n In the clip, Perez performs \u201cFable\u201d at the Village Music Cafe, which brought her back to a voicemail she received from her late older sister Celine, which plays at the end of the track. \u201cI was performing at the cafe like I always did all the time,\u201d she says. \u201cThis was absolutely everything to me during those years. She really understood that. \u2018Fable\u2019 is a moment in my set that always brings me back to that bond and connection that I had with her.\u201d<\/p>\n Perez has heard that voicemail ring out at dozens of shows this year. \u201cTo me, it\u2019s really awesome to think that by the end of this year, we\u2019ll have played 65 shows and I think it was something like I\u2019ve played in front of over 700,000 people this year in total,\u201d she continues. \u201cKnowing that her voice has reached that many people \u2014 even if it was just for a moment in the set \u2014 that moment comes at the very end of the song where I feel her reverberate through so many people.\u201d<\/p>\n She adds: \u201cTo me, that makes me feel proud, it grounds me, and it brings me back to why I\u2019m doing this. Even the songs she\u2019s not in, she\u2019s had an imprint on me in so many ways that there\u2019s always going to be that piece of her inside of the things that I do.\u201d<\/p>\n Just before Perez heads of to play \u201cSugar Water\u201d outside, Steve from Village Music Cafe presents her with her first guitar, repaired after extensive wear and tear. \u201cThis is a gift that was given to me by a family friend. She was a little bit older than me, she was like the cool older sister to my older sister,\u201d she says. \u201cShe had this guitar and whenever I was over I would just bang on it. I fell in love and she was like, \u2018Here do you want it?\u2019 I wrote a lot of songs on it. I\u2019m so happy that I get to play this guitar again.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSugar Water\u201d appears on Perez\u2019s debut album At the Beach, in Every Life<\/a><\/em>, released earlier this year. In Back to the Beach<\/em>, she describes the record as being about nostalgia, particularly the push and pull between her past and present relationship with feeling secure. \u201cI look at my 18-year-old self and I think she\u2019d be so proud to know that this girl is 25 years old and has a certain security in her life,\u201d Perez said. She\u2019d gotten used to facing obstacles at every turn, especially when she first started releasing music under her current artist name.<\/p>\n \u201cThere were a lot of constant roadblocks, like every single day there was a door that you\u2019d open and behind it was a little fist that punched you in the face,\u201d she says. \u201cBut this year, it was different. Things started to just flow and happened in a way that I haven\u2019t experienced before. I\u2019m excited for the end of the year to really be able to let all of the memories sink in and download. I\u2019m just so grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n Best of Rolling Stone<\/strong><\/p>\n Sign up for RollingStone’s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Village Music Cafe, an intimate entertainment center nestled in Palm Beach Florida, used to be the place where Gigi Perez would debut her most personal records. On Thursdays, she would bring her latest works to the showcase that helped build the stage presence she now displays on festival stages and during her own headlining tours. 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