Sequinox: A Ritual Cycle by Secrets of the Beehive with Mehtab Kirtan's Death Songs

As the wheel turns, and autumn approaches, we celebrate the waning part of the year. In a unique, once in a lifetime event, Secrets of the Beehive will perform their complete ritual cycle of nine songs from their forthcoming album, Songs for the Fire. Beginning with the Fall Equinox to Samhain, Winter Solstice, and on into the new year, each song represents a distinct stop on the journey through the Pagan Wheel of the Year. Performed as a ritual of music, storytelling, and dance, Secrets of the Beehive will present tales of death and rebirth, sacrifice, quest, transformation, and transcendence.
Led by Jason Winslade, the founder of the Beehive, on vocals, shruti box, melodica, and percussion, Davis Krieg on guitars, Brett Taylor on acoustic fretless bass, and Julian Daniell on drums and native flutes, and joined by special guests Mehtab Kirtan on additional percussion, Allison Hill on cello, Maya Williams on violin, Heather Engholm on backing vocals, with dancers Kitty Khaos, Noori, and Stacy manifesting the stories through dance, Secrets of the Beehive will bring to Elastic Arts the culmination of seventeen years of songwriting and storytelling, borne from the rituals and bonfires of the American Pagan festival experience.
The evening will begin with a performance of Death Songs, a new improvisational project by Mehtab Kirtan, exploring the journey to the beyond, featuring the haunting vocals of Ultra-Violet Archer.
We will also feature art by Caskets and Co and tarot by Storm Orion Dolente. Other vendors to be announced.
Doors open at 7pm. Show at 7:30. Tickets are $20 at the door.
Discount advanced tickets at www.ritualrhythmschicago.com

PERFORMERS

**SECRETS OF THE BEEHIVE**
Founded by singer/songwriter Jason Winslade as a vehicle for his ritual music, Secrets of the Beehive has been part of the alternative folk scene in Chicago for over twelve years. After various incarnations, guitarist Davis Krieg provided the musical foundation for the group when he joined in 2022. Bassist Brett Taylor and drummer Julian Daniels round out the sound, with influences from prog rock, jazz, post-punk, folk, alternative, traditional Irish, and African and Arabic drumming. The Beehive takes its audiences on sacred and personal journeys with their songs.
www.ritualrhythmschicago.com/secretsofthebeehive
www.instagram.com/secretsofthebeehiveband
www.facebook.com/secretsofthebeehive

**MEHTAB KIRTAN'S DEATH SONGS**
Mehtab Kirtan’s “Death Songs” is a peace-giving, ambient-experimental group singing to and from the other side.
�No one really knows what happens when we cross over. This group creates improvised, ambient pieces contemplating “the great beyond.” A concept is shared with the audience (and group!), and brand new sonic meditations emerge to aid our wonders, introspections, and full-bodied feeling into unsolvable mysteries.��
Mehtab Kirtan - percussion, voice, concept, Ultra-Violet Archer - vocals, Justin Peterson - bass, Victor Sanders - guitar, Venus Sabay - crystal bowls, percussion, keys, Sam Genualdi - guitar.
https://www.instagram.com/mehtabkirtan/

**KITTY KHAOS**
Kitty brings fluid chaos to the stage, playfully blending improv fusion belly dance, pop and lock, flow arts and many other dances styles She is a student of Dawn Xiana Moon, Kamrah Raks, Lee na Moon and Tila von Twirl, and is deeply influenced by Eva la Feva, Bazuka Joe, Willy la Que and Mocha Mocha 2.0. She has been dancing with Wicked Fox Fusion, the student troupe for Raks Inferno, for two years and enjoys costuming, cooking and neuroscience.
https://www.instagram.com/kitty_khaoss

**NOORI**
Radia Ali, also known as Noori, is a multidisciplinary Bangladeshi performing artist, poet, educator, and fire dancer whose work blends South Asian classical and folk dance with belly dance, flamenco, samba, and burlesque. Drawing on experiences growing up across Asia and Europe, she creates fusion performances using props such as silk veils, fire fans, and swords to tell cross-cultural stories of personal and collective liberation.
Radia has also studied whirling and Semah dance, instructed by Sufi teachers in Turkey. At first as a private devotional practice, and later on as public performance and an act of spiritual freedom, she has been engaging in this style of movement since 2001.
Radia has performed at venues including Electric Forest, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago,Chicago Summer Dance, Festival of Nations St Louis and Old Town School of Folk Music. She has also performed with Egyptian indie artist NAXÖ, and teaches movement, fusion dance, and fire performance.
In 2024, Radia founded East Winds Festival, a Chicago-based Arts Festival highlighting pan-Asian artistry and providing a creative platform for marginalized voices.

https://www.instagram.com/noori0202/

**STACY**
A dedicated belly dancer for nearly 20 years, Stacy has spent the majority of her dance journey training under the renowned Sonya at Arabesque Dance Studio, and spent many years dancing with troupe Ro-He. Here she honed her technique and stage presence, and deep love for Middle Eastern dance. Though Arabesque has since closed, the foundation built there continues to inspire her artistic expression!