Felicia Rose Brings Sacred Song, World Rhythms and Electronic Trance to the Garde

Felicia Rose Brings Sacred Song, World Rhythms and Electronic Trance to the Garde Sunday, Sept. 27, for an afternoon that moves between singer-songwriter intimacy, Sanskrit chanting, percussion, world music and the electronic transformation of songs originally written as spiritual music.

Presented by Mezza Stage + Studio, the 2 p.m. performance pairs Rose with percussionists Tam Zezulka and Kevin Gallagher II, musicians associated with The Omies and Shakti Ma and the Rainbow Serpents. The concert is being presented as an afternoon of meditative, devotional, and electronic world music.

But this isn’t simply a concert.

Psychic mediums and readers from Mystical Horizons will be available before and after the performance, with short readings offered for an additional charge. Guests can also arrive early or remain afterward to meet the musicians.

The afternoon will include a tribute to Verline Eldrige, a longtime spiritual teacher and medium who died earlier this year after more than 50 years of spiritual work.

From Folk-Rock Songs to Sanskrit Chants

Rose describes what she creates as conscious music, a broad category that allows her to move between musical forms without separating the music from its spiritual purpose.

Her repertoire includes romantic ballads centered on love for the Divine as well as more rhythmic chants performed in both English and Sanskrit.

Musically, the originals draw from folk rock, world beat and gospel, while kirtan and mantra are also central to her performances and workshops.

Kirtan comes from the devotional traditions of India and commonly uses repeated chants or mantras in a communal setting. Rather than the audience remaining completely separate from the performer, repetition can turn the room itself into part of the music.

That helps explain the unusual range represented in Sunday’s program.

A singer-songwriter ballad, Sanskrit chant and percussion-driven piece may sound like they belong in entirely different concerts. Rose approaches them as different routes toward the same meditative and emotional experience.

Then She Put the Sacred Music on the Dance Floor

Rose’s music has recently taken another turn.

In 2026, she collaborated with electronic producer DJ JackEL on Deep Elevation, Vol. 1, reworking spiritual songs as deep-house and melodic electronic tracks.

The project takes material originally associated with meditation, yoga and sacred performance and places it inside an electronic framework suited to movement and dance.

Among the 2026 releases are remixes of songs including Repetition, Through the Sound, Rain Falls, Longing and Let It Go.

It’s an interesting collision of purposes.

Electronic dance music is built around repetition.

So is mantra.

In one setting, repetition keeps bodies moving on a dance floor. In another, repeating words or sounds can become a meditative practice.

Rose’s recent work deliberately puts those ideas together.

Kevin Gallagher II Builds the Rhythm From Several Traditions

Percussionist Kevin Gallagher II brings another set of musical traditions into Sunday’s performance.

The Lyme musician has studied and performed West African, Latin and kirtan rhythms, with experience ranging from Nigerian ceremonial mask performances and West African dance classes to rock, jazz, jam and fusion bands.

He currently plays mridanga and percussion with Connecticut kirtan groups The Omies and the Rainbow Serpents.

The mridanga is a double-headed drum closely associated with devotional music from India, giving Gallagher a way to connect rhythmic traditions that stretch far beyond the conventional Western drum kit.

That percussion becomes particularly important in music intended not merely to be heard, but sung, chanted or moved to.

A Memorial Within the Music

The concert will also pause to remember Verline Eldrige.

Organizers describe Eldrige as a beloved spiritual teacher and medium who spent more than half a century doing that work before her death earlier in 2026.

Her inclusion gives Sunday’s gathering a memorial dimension alongside its musical and spiritual elements.

The presence of readers from Mystical Horizons extends that atmosphere beyond the stage. Short individual readings will be available at an additional cost before and after the concert, while the musicians themselves will also be available for a meet-and-greet.

So the two-hour advertised performance is only part of the experience.

An Intimate Project Inside a Very Big Theater

The afternoon is presented by Mezza Stage + Studio, a queer-led performance project built around intimate, small-scale arts events.

Rather than committing itself to one discipline or permanent venue, Mezza produces spoken word, theater, dance, music, comedy, film and other performances, shaping individual events around the rooms in which they happen.

Sunday brings that philosophy to the Garde Arts Center, the historic State Street performing arts venue now celebrating its centennial season.

And the pairing is an unusual one.

A theater created during the age of grand movie palaces becomes the setting for Sanskrit chants, world percussion, spiritual singer-songwriter music and songs newly reinvented through electronic dance music.

Somewhere between concert, meditation, remembrance and gathering, Felicia Rose’s Sunday afternoon doesn’t fit neatly into one category.

For Mezza Stage + Studio, that’s pretty much the point.

More information is available at the Event Website link below.

To purchase tickets, click the Event Ticketing link below.

Details

Event: Felicia Rose, presented by Mezza Stage + Studio
Date: Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026
Time: 2–4 p.m.
Location: Garde Arts Center
Address: 325 State St., New London, CT 06320
Admission: $27–$32 plus fees
Featured Artist: Felicia Rose
Percussion: Tam Zezulka and Kevin Gallagher II
Music: Devotional and meditative music, folk rock, world beat, gospel influences, Sanskrit and English chants and electronic music
Also Featured: Meet-and-greet with the artists and psychic mediums/readers from Mystical Horizons before and after the concert
Readings: Short readings available for an additional charge
Special Tribute: The late spiritual teacher and medium Verline Eldrige
Presented By: Mezza Stage + Studio
Box Office: 860-444-7373 ext. 1

 

 

Featured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people, location, or activities shown.