Gwyneth Giller and Lovie, DJ and radio host, dive into Girl Talk—sharing soulful thoughts and the authentic soundtrack of her life.
In honor of Spotify Wrapped dropping and exposing all our most authentic listening habits, I caught up with Lovie—DJ, radio host, and connoisseur of sound—to talk about the soundtrack of her life right now. Fresh off hosting her summer school radio show at The Lot, Lovie opens up about childhood nostalgia, the words that keep reshaping her, and the songs that hold her steady. Our conversation drifted the same way good music does: unexpectedly, tenderly, and with an emotional precision you only get from someone who genuinely lives in sound.
We are talking bell hooks, Marvin Gaye, T*ylor Swift, and why no girl should ever date a DJ. Consider this your Wrapped-season deep dive into the mind of someone who doesn’t just curate music, she curates meaning.
Gwyneth Giller: How was your day?
Lovie: It was good. I had my radio show this morning. It’s on the Greenpoint/Williamsburg border actually.
GG: Oh, at The Lot?
L: Yeah, it’s so easy to hang out and spend money over there. There’s three thrift stores. There’s a shoe store that I like. There’s Cafe Mogador. Everything is over there.
GG: Okay, subtle Mogador plug. What’s your order there?
L: Cafe Mogador, I love you. I love the salmon with the salad, and I also love the French toast, you know, depending on the day. But I didn’t go there today. I didn’t really hang out over there at all today. I brought myself home.
GG: Recession indicator.
L: I know right.
GG: But it’s election day.
L: Yeah, the energy is so palpable and joyous and optimistic. And the weather matches it perfectly.
GG: It definitely is, I’m excited for today. What were you for Halloween?
L: I actually didn’t do anything on Halloween. But I guess I dipped my toe into the water and lightly celebrated Halloween the night before by seeing Frankenstein with a friend. I really enjoyed it.
GG: Omg I saw Frankenstein last night. It was beautiful. I felt like I was in a vortex of time during the movie.
L: Yeah, I felt suspended in air for the entirety of the movie. Time stopped actually. And I got out on the other side, and I was changed.
GG: I felt like I kind of returned to my childhood whimsy being told a story in that way. When the perspective of the narration changed, my jaw literally dropped in the theater.
L: I used to be an actor and when I was in theater school and undergrad, there’s actually a really amazing production of Frankenstein that was done by the National Theater in London. And they do a lot of really high-quality recordings of their live productions. And in college, every year around Halloween, they would take us to go to the local movies and watch this production of Frankenstein. I just think it’s such a beautiful story. And then I was reading about how Mary Shelley was 19 when she wrote it.
GG: That’s insane. I know the movie’s a little different from the book, but when I was watching I kept thinking to myself, “Oh you can just tell this is a story that comes from a woman.”
L: Yes.
GG: My only problem with the movie was that I could not stop just seeing Jacob Elordi as Frankenstein’s monster. I kept expecting the monster to pop a little Bottega bag over his shoulder.
L: [laughs] Really? The connection wasn’t as strong for me. I didn’t watch Euphoria.
GG: That makes sense. So you were an actor before DJ. What was that pipeline like?
L: I went to theater school in undergrad and I was just surrounded by artists. It was a conservatory-style school. I was in the theater department but we also had a graphic design, visual arts department, and live performance department. When you’re in a multidisciplinary space like that, everybody’s just trying a bunch of different things at any given time. So a lot of the kids from the design department were trying out DJ’ing, and I was invited by a friend to just go check out their set.
When I went, I mostly just enjoyed the music I already loved—hearing it in a new context. I don’t think I realized before then that the way I connected to music, the way I loved accumulating it, finding it, and digging for it on my own, could actually live inside something larger until I saw a friend of mine DJ for the first time.
Because I was acting—and that eats up so much time between rehearsals, auditions, memorizing, performing—and because I was in school at the same time, my life and interests were basically on pause throughout undergrad. I didn’t really get the chance to start exploring, teaching myself, and putting songs together until after I graduated. I’d dabbled a bit in college, but it didn’t really pick up until around 2018.
GG: And you have such an impactful, colorful career as a DJ.
L: Thank you.
GG: Where does the name Lovie come from?
L: I feel like there are a couple of different songs that I reference. There’s a song “Lover to Lover” by Maxi Anderson that I love a lot, that Bobbi Humphrey did a cover of. I think my ear has always been drawn toward the sweeter, soulful love songs. I feel like I wanted something that could embody that.
And I’m also such a bell hooks student and devotee, and reading All About Love in early 2020 gave me such a clear value system and foundation that I’ve just wanted to bring to everything I do. I feel like it’s an amalgamation of all those things. I love love.
GG: What do you feel is one of bell hooks’ teachings or thought processes that has impacted you the most?
L: Good question. I think I’ve read like six of her books and I’m really locked in. But I think Communion is really overlooked. It’s part of a greater trilogy that All About Love falls into, where she wanted to write these three books about love and being loving.
Communion is specifically about loving relationships between women—intergenerationally, platonically, not so much romantically because, you know, she wasn’t getting down like that—but communally. And there is a section toward the end of the book where she describes the inner world as the home that you’re building. But the things that make up “the home” are you as a person: your authenticity, your belief system, and your interests. And I think reading that book helped better contextualize her love ethic as person-first and not centering romance.
GG: I have to read it—obviously finding communal love in platonic relationships between women is the concept of this entire column.
L: Oh wow, yeah.
GG: There’s so much nuance, beauty, and tenderness within the seemingly trivial conversations women have—the ones I hear, the ones I see, the ones I have myself. I’m obviously immersed in all of that. But I definitely want to read it. And I’ve been so obsessed with the idea of self-actualization lately, which sounds crazy and very “okay, girl,” but—
L: No. You’re definitely talking to the right person.
GG: I’m really starting to believe—and actually feel, deep down—that there’s no way to move through life without being authentic to who you are. Otherwise, you just…won’t attract the right things, and you won’t end up in the right places.
L: That really resonates. This is the bell hooks quote from Communion I was thinking about: “Love is the foundation on which we build the house of our dreams. It’s a house with many rooms. Relationships are part of the house, but they are not everything and never could be. The key is balance. To live a balanced life, no group of women should feel they need to deny the importance of love.”
GG: Okay, little pivot: when was the last time you cried?
L: Oh, the last time that I cried… I want to say maybe a week or so ago. I just felt so safe with someone, and it was emotionally overwhelming. In that safety, all the moments where I have felt unsafe were at the forefront. And it was this full-body realization that that’s not what this is—that this place is not where that unsafe feeling will have a home.
GG: I’m really happy that happened to you.
L: Thank you. What about you?
GG: The last time I cried was watching a Kardashian episode. They were saying goodbye to their El Dorado home and I was bawling. And then I had this gross feeling about crying over celebrities, then that made me cry. [laughs]
L: There’s a place for that. That comes from care, you know?
GG: Exactly. Sooo, today you were DJ’ing summer school radio at The Lot. Can you talk a little about the name and how that came to be?
L: I feel like the place where my love of music was really strengthened—the backdrop that shaped it—was summertime. It was when my friends and I would just drive around with nowhere in particular to go; we were in the suburbs of Virginia with nothing but time. We shared so much music in our cars, especially with those little cassette adapters you’d pop in with the aux cord dangling out. There was so much exchanging, so much discovery.
So sonically, when I started the show, I wanted to recreate that feeling: the warmth, the summertime ease, the joy that comes from sharing music with other people. That intention guided both the selections and the overall spirit of it.
GG: I literally yearn for the feeling of being young, during summer break driving around aimlessly and carefree. Did you ever go to summer school?
L: No, I never went.
GG: Okay, so you were smart.
L: That’s for the people who fell behind. I never did that.
GG: What was your favorite and least favorite subject in school?
L: My favorite subject was definitely theater—I was really committed to it and took classes all through middle and high school. My least favorite was probably science. There was even one year when I was so disinterested that my teacher pulled me aside after class and asked, “Is everything okay at home?” And I was like, “Yeah, I just don’t really care for this.”
GG: Do you remember—this might be totally random and maybe way too long ago—but what’s one of the most unhinged messages someone wrote in your yearbook?
L:I don’t really remember any yearbook stuff, but it reminds me of a time I was at a thrift store in Maryland—where I’m from—probably in my early to mid-20s. Someone came up to me and said, “I know you.” It took me a second to place her, and then I realized we’d been in kindergarten together. I think her name was Micah or something. I said, “Wow, it’s so nice to see you.”
He said, “Your voice sounds so different. Or maybe it’s just because you were yelling all the time. Anyway, nice to see you.” And I was like… oh.
GG: [laughs] Were you yelling all the time?
L: Well, first of all, we were like five.
GG: Who is your longest-standing friend?
L: My longest-standing friendships, they were both around the same age, around 11.
GG: Those are the most precious kinds of friendships. For someone to witness you go through so many phases of life is truly invaluable.
L: Definitely. It’s so affirming when they’re proud of you and say things like, “This is exactly who you were always meant to be.” When someone witnesses you like that, it really means something deep. Wounds start to heal from the inside with that kind of affirmation.
GG: What’s something a lot of people don’t know about you?
L: There’s this perception around DJing, nightlife, and social scenes that I must be a girl about town. But honestly, I just love being home. I love reading and listening to public radio in the house.
GG: That must be challenging—balancing those late nights for work, even if not every night, with staying in tune with where you want to be personally.
L: Yeah, it’s definitely been an interesting challenge. When I first started, everything felt so new and exciting. Plus, it was right after the pandemic—in the summer of 2021—so there were so many incredible parties and new people to meet. But now, after almost five years in it, I have a clearer sense of where I want to go. I’ve become more selective about where I put my energy. I know myself better and understand what I need to do to sustain this career long-term. If I pushed beyond my limits, I’d burn out and wouldn’t be able to give my best through my work.
GG: I swing between wanting to say yes to everything because it feels like the exciting path… but then I pull back and realize that sometimes saying “no” is actually the most powerful and rewarding choice. Finding that balance is definitely tricky.
L: Exactly.
GG: Do you ever date other DJs?
L: Absolutely not. And here’s a warning for all my girls—from the DJ herself—if you want a loving, committed, faithful partnership with someone you can trust, it’s not going to be a DJ.
GG: [Laughs] I’m going to say a musical artist and you respond with a word you associate with them.
L: Okay.
GG: Doechii.
L: Alligator.
GG: Charli XCX.
L: Brat.
GG: Nicki Minaj.
L: Piano.
GG: Chris Brown.
L: Ugh.
GG: Sister Nancy.
L: Bam.
GG: Taylor Swift.
L: No.
GG: So Bob Marley once said, “Love is my religion.” What is your religion?
L: My religion is growth, honestly. I truly believe we’re all here to become the best versions of ourselves—who we’re meant to be. And we can only get there by being authentic and honest. Growth is an essential part of that journey.
GG: I agree.
L: I put myself toward spiritual growth—to grow so that I can fulfill my purpose before I go, you know.
GG: What do you think your most played song of 2025 is going to be?
L: It may be “Soon I’ll Be Loving You Again” by Marvin Gaye. I’m so stuck on that album. I love it so much.
GG: What’s your all-time favorite album?
L: I do think that I Want You by Marvin Gaye is maybe my top answer. I would also say forever, ya Girl by keiyaA. Those are the two I’m going to say right now, because I would have to dig.
GG: It’s such a skill to name songs and albums off the top of your head. I have such a hard time recalling my favorites.
L: I mean, to be fair, sometimes I need to see the album cover. I want to name more, but I would have to go dig.
GG: Do you remember the first concert you went to?
L: I think I went to a Mac DeMarco show—no, it was Toro y Moi. That was the first concert I went to that I bought a ticket for. When I left home for college is when I really started going to shows.
GG: Did your parents ever take you to a concert when you were young?
L: No, that was not my mom’s scene at all. She was taking us to church. My dad was more of a sports person. He was taking us to baseball and football games. Nobody was making sure I was going to see Sade or someone cool.
GG: Going to church is still kind of like a concert.
L: Very true.
GG: What’s the weirdest DM you’ve ever gotten after a set?
L: Honestly my DMs are quite kind—very heartfelt, very sweet. I don’t get a lot of odd stuff. And even if I did, I block so quickly I would forget.
GG: What’s your go-to bodega snack after a night out or DJ’ing?
L: A green juice.
GG: Okay, health. What’s your current fashion era?
L: I am in a rut right now. The fashion era is very rut-like. I need an injection of stuff that inspires me and makes me happy about the weather transition. I need a couple new pieces that make things feel fresh and new again. That’s my era right now.
GG: You and me both. I’m so sad SSENSE is closing.
L: Have they announced it?
GG: Yeah. They owe so much money to so many brands. What or who is your everyday inspiration?
L: My everyday inspiration right now comes from watching how much the DJ scene has changed over the past four years since I’ve been part of it. There are so many new faces contributing in really symbiotic and exciting ways. It feels like they’re pouring in, and I’m getting so much out of it.
A few years ago, my view might not have been as broad, but now I see so many people who’ve moved here with the intention to contribute and DJ, and they truly stand out. They’re really inspiring me at this moment.
GG: Do you ever long for a time of your life in the past?
L: Yeah, very much so.
GG: I know you’re very oriented in the present, but what kind of life do you manifest?
L: I was just telling someone about what I want my life to look like when I’m older. I want to feel like I’m creating a life that, when I’m 80 and look back, reflects all the beautiful choices I’ve made along the way. Whether it’s the people I’m with, if I have children, the records I’ve collected, or the place I call home—I want everything in front of me to be the result of those thoughtful choices.
Right now, I feel like I’m making decisions that will lead to that future—I want to create that life in the present. You know what I mean?
GG: Absolutely, me too. That’s so beautiful. And with you already prioritizing that in your life, you’re just affirming that you will end up there.
L: I hope so. I can’t wait to age. It’s going to be so beautiful.
GG: What is one thing that you want to do for the rest of your life?
L: Learn.
GG: Last question—with learning in mind—what is the best piece of advice that you’ve ever gotten?
L: The best piece of advice I ever got was from my mom when I was about 22. She said, “it’s your time right now. You’re on your own, you have your life to live—make choices for yourself.”
Now that I’ve turned 30, I have so much more context for what she meant. I truly feel like I’m just at the beginning of my turn—to travel, to play, to be out, and to live the kind of life I’m so lucky to have. But with the way life cycles—how nature moves, people age, and new faces come in—I know that someday it won’t be my turn anymore. It’ll be the next person’s, the next generation’s. That awareness has planted me firmly in the present, grateful for what I’m able to do and create right now. And when the time comes to pass the torch, that will be just fine. I’ll still be there, part of a community—reminiscing, supporting, and maybe helping a younger generation who follow in my footsteps.
GG: What a beautiful answer to end on. Thank you.
