Songs for the Fire is an album seventeen years in the making! It is a ritual cycle, roughly following the Wheel of the Year, the Pagan calendar of festivals, equinoxes, and solstices. Created by songwriter Jason Winslade, these tunes represent a life journey inspired by rituals and ceremonies performed around the bonfires at both large festivals and intimate gatherings. Thanks to the various musicians who have joined me in Secrets of the Beehive, a group based on the north side of Chicago, I am finally able to share the magical journey around the fire with all of you. The official release date for Songs for the Fire is September 20th, 2026.
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The Story of the Beehive
Begun with just a shruti box and some chants around the festival fire in 2009, songwriter Jason Winslade created his first tunes (Sequinox, Nigredo, and Angel of Time) with his primitive instruments and originally performed them with the Boston-based band, Faebotica, who he played with until 2012.
Two years later, in Chicago, Jason formed the first iteration of his project Secrets of the Beehive and added more tunes to the repertoire. After several years of performing live under that name, with many different iterations of the band, Jason met guitarist Davis Krieg in 2022, and with that, Secrets of the Beehive finally became fully manifested. They were later joined by bassist Brett Taylor, and became a solid trio. They eventually began working with Julian Daniell on drums and flutes. Over the years, they have been joined by a wide variety of musicians for their live performances, and a few of those have appeared on this album, including cellist Allison Hill, percussionist Mehtab Kirtan, violinists Sam Hyson and Jacob Revels, vocalist Heather Engholm, and Steve Raden, player of Greek stringed instruments.
Most of these nine tunes have evolved considerably since they were originally conceived on the shruti box, a drone instrument consisting of a free reed system dating back to ancient China and developed in the Indian subcontinent under British colonial influence, similar to the harmonium. I was first introduced to the shruti box at American Pagan festivals in the late 90s, particularly from members of the band Green Crown. It became an easy, portable instrument to create simple chord progressions and harmonies, and my songs were inspired by rituals and ceremonies around the large bonfires at these festivals.
I always knew these songs would need a much fuller sound for a final recording than what I could provide on my own and I began a quest to find the right collaborators. Our first live show in 2014 consisted of acoustic guitar, violin, cello, and percussion. Over the years, the setup became a bit more sophisticated. But the core of the tunes, based in the Pagan world, remained the same.
Though Secrets of the Beehive’s current sound has evolved into more of a post-punk/alternative folk style with jazz and prog rock influences, our live shows occasionally dip into these ceremonial tunes as part of our overall repertoire. It was vital for me to create a record of my Pagan roots as a musician. And we’re looking forward to capturing our more current sound on the next album.
The Stories Behind the Songs for the Fire
(all music and lyrics by Jason Winslade, copyright 2026. All arrangements by Jason Winslade and Davis Krieg, except where noted.)
Sequinox
Celebrating Spring Equinox at the dawn of the year, this is a call to the spirits of nature and the Fae to raise their energies in order to revitalize the world. Spring Equinox is the time of initiation and new beginnings. Sequinox was one of the earlier tunes first played with Faebotica. When played live, we used to combine this with The Beatles’ Tomorrow Never Knows (“turn off your mind, relax and float downstream”). In this version, we added a drum jam to start the energy right.
Jason Winslade – vocals, melodica, shruti box, djembe, percussion. Julian Daniell – native flute, bongos, djembe. Mehtab Kirtan – cojon, frame drums. Allison Hill – cello. Heather Engholm – backing vocals.
Orpheus Dreaming
As a practicing Pagan and Wiccan/Hermetic initiate since 1996, I followed the Wheel of the Year over many cycles, in some cases, taking on the lead roles in the universal drama known as the Wild Hunt. Beltane, the celebration at the midway point between Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice, is a Celtic festival usually associated with fertility and the beginning of the summer season. In modern Pagan practice, it can be rather controversial because of its overt sexualization, with the dancing around the Maypole symbolic of sexual union (which you might know if you’ve seen the original Wicker Man). In the last few decades, the duotheism and cishet-centered symbolism has been questioned, particularly by queer and trans members of the community. Orpheus Dreaming, written around 2014, is a tribute to those people who want a different interpretation of Beltane, where we leave behind all the ways that we are constrained by outmoded systems, particularly the gender binary.
Jason Winslade – vocals, shruti box, melodica, djembe, percussion. Davis Krieg – guitars, keyboards. Jacob Revels – violin.
Prayer for the Walking
As we move towards the mystery of the Summer Solstice, I particularly remember my year of being a caretaker for the Dromenon, a labyrinth made of rocks along set paths on the land I used to frequent as an initiate of the Hermetic Order of Chicago. Prayer for the Walking also recalls my journeys in 1999 when I spent several months walking ancient roads in the UK and particularly the coastal path in Cornwall, where I had many magical adventures. When I returned from that journey, I received my only tattoo, that of the classic labyrinth design, in a shamanic ceremony in Chicago. Around that time, I was also starting to attend summer Pagan festivals, such as Pagan Spirit Gathering, Starwood, Sirius Rising, Rites of Spring, and more. At PSG, there was a giant labyrinth made of candles in the little valley at the Wisteria site in Ohio, where I first heard a shruti box, which would become the instrument I used to write most of these songs. This labyrinth is still created every year at Starwood Festival, on that same site. I’m always taken by the sight and feeling of large groups of people walking the labyrinth at once, sometimes by themselves, other times as part of a couple, or a family. In the labyrinth, all time is happening at once – the ancient past, the grounded present, and the uncertain future. This is our journey, through life and through death.
Jason Winslade – vocals, shruti box, melodica, percussion. Davis Krieg – guitars, keyboards. Brett Taylor – bass. Julian Daniell – drums, singing bowls, chimes, backing vocals. Allison Hill – cello. Sam Hyson – violin. Heather Engholm – backing vocals.
Curiouser
While this tune isn’t necessarily related to the Celtic festival of Lunasadh, the halfway point between Summer Solstice and Fall Equinox, I associate it with that time of year because of its origin as a tribute to a festival friend who I barely knew before she moved on from our plane of existence. For anyone who knew her, Ashley Goldberg was a unique creature, with one foot always in the otherworld. I wrote this song for her after one festival where she had a rough time navigating an evening of psychedelics. I am glad to say she at least was able to read an early form of the lyrics that I sent to her. I was preparing to perform the song live when I learned of her death in October 2016, and somehow I didn’t find out until a month after it happened, after which I revised the lyrics. The music began with a violin loop created by Nasya Elias, the second violinist to perform with the Beehive. I took that basic loop, worked out a melody for the vocals, and then handed these rudimentary ideas over to the incomparable Sam Hyson, who created several other violin loops to complement the first one. This song in its current form wouldn’t exist without his contributions.
Jason Winslade – vocals, glockenspiel, tongue drum. Sam Hyson – violin, loops. Allison Hill – cello.
Ember Dance
As we head towards the darker parts of the year, with Fall Equinox and Samhain approaching, we think of those we lost and how we celebrate their passing by continually giving our energy to the fire. Some nights, we dance until there is nothing left of the fire but ashes and embers. This tune was specifically written from a melody and rhythm created on a homemade instrument made from a propane tank, crafted by the father of a former partner. It’s a unique instrument and nothing else in the world sounds like it. I often like to play it at the quieter hours around the fire, because it makes a warm and comforting, but still haunting sound.
Jason Winslade – vocals, tank drum, djembe, darbuka, percussion. Davis Krieg – guitars. Brett Taylor – bass. Julian Daniell – drums, native flute. Mehtab Kirtan – throat singing, percussion. Allison Hill – cello. Steve Raden – bouzouk, tzouras. Heather Engholm – backing vocals.
Nigredo
Another of the original three Secrets of the Beehive songs, performed first with Faebotica, I always think of Nigredo as my alchemical blues song and one of my favorites to play live. The song is named for the first stage of alchemy, where we face the dark night of the soul, and begin the process of turning our lead into gold, transforming the dross of our being. At Samhain, and afterwards, we’re still in the cave, trapped in the dark part of the year, with no foreseeable way out. So we have to dig in and experience those raw emotions. The only way out is through. I was particularly inspired by Jeff “Magnus” McBride’s “Alchemifire” ritual, a three night experience that he and his partner Abbi Spinner, along with an incredible crew, was touring around festivals in the mid 2000s. I experienced one in 2009 that quite literally changed my life. That first night represented the Nigredo stage of alchemy and one of our tasks was to tie black ribbons around the perimeter of the ritual space, representing what we wanted to sacrifice or let go in the ritual. We’ve got to tie the black ribbon tonight.
Jason Winslade – vocals. Davis Krieg – guitars, keyboards. Brett Taylor – bass. Julian Daniell – drums. Sam Hyson – violin. Nicole Edgecomb – backing vocals. Jeanne Freymire – backing vocals.
Longest Night
A song I first wrote on the shruti box in 2010, Longest Night, of course, celebrates the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year, when we are emerging from the darkness and just beginning to see the potential from the returning light. When these veils are thin, anything is possible and we can choose to repeat old patterns or write a new story. The central mythos in modern Paganism is the ancient agon of the new and the old, represented by the Oak King and the Holly King. In traditional lore, they battle it out every solstice, with the Holly King victorious at Summer Solstice and the Oak King victorious at Winter Solstice. In this tune, I imagine their ongoing battle to have a more romantic element, especially since I was originally inspired to write this at a particularly romantic winter solstice with my partner at the time and their community.
Jason Winslade – vocals, shruti box, djembe. Davis Krieg – guitars. Brett Taylor – bass. Julian Daniell – drums. Allison Hill – cello. Sam Hyson – violin. Heather Engholm – backing vocals.
Angel of Time
The first song I ever wrote on the shruti song (one of the original three) was inspired by seeing beautiful dancing around the bonfires at festivals. I associate the Goddess most specifically with the festival of Imbolc, especially the goddess Brigid, the healer, poet, and smith of Celtic legend. I was also inspired by a film documentary directed by my friend, the author and voodoo priestess, Lilith Dorsey, depicting her gathering water from various sacred water sites. Though that documentary was lost to time, I did use footage from another of her films, with her permission, as the foundation for the music video, which also featured footage of a few of the many dancers who have performed for my Tribal Stomp and Ritual Rhythms events.
Jason Winslade – vocals, shruti box, melodica, djembe, percussion. Davis Krieg – guitars. Jacob Revels – violin. Mehtab Kirtan – percussion. Heather Engholm – backing vocals.
The Last Festival
As we complete our cycle, The Last Festival sings of how all festivals are the same festival, all rituals are the same ritual. This was the most recently written song on this album, from the summer of 2024. I was at Starwood Festival and I had signed up for the yearly bardic circle (open mic). Not wanting to perform the same songs I always sang, I challenged myself to write a new song on the shruti box an hour before the performance. I immediately was inspired by all the people I knew from the festival scene that had passed on and I could imagine around the fire at the last festival, in the Summerlands of Celtic myth. I think of Ashley Goldberg, April Love, Jacqui Pechanek, Jenn Bliss, Jeff Ray, Robin Goodfellow, Brian Jefferson, and many others. I knew I had been divinely inspired when I performed the song at the bardic circle, and not only was I in tears by the end, but so was the audience. For anyone who has ever been around the festival fire, you understand. Keep the fire in your head and the songs in your heart. And we’ll dance to the drum, as our spirits depart.
Jason Winslade – vocals, shruti box, melodica, djembe, percussion. Davis Krieg – guitars. Brett Taylor – bass. Julian Daniell – drums, djembe. Mehtab Kirtan – frame drums. Allison Hill – cello. Heather Engholm – backing vocals.