Sheela Bringi and Elden Kelly
Event description
Doors: 3:30PM
Concert: 4:30PM
General Admission Tickets: $32
VIP Tickets (which include a gourmet food sampling menu): $50
All tickets include a complimentary glass of wine. VIP tickets must be purchased at least 3 days prior to the concert; they cannot be purchased at the door.
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Join us for an intimate afternoon with Indian-American vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Sheela Bringi and genre-defying guitarist and vocalist Elden Kelly. The music flows between Indian classical rāga, jazz-inspired improvisation, folk lyricism and original soul-stirring songs.
Together, they create a sound that is expansive yet intimate - meditative, deeply expressive, and alive with heartfelt artistry. With harp, bansuri, fretless guitar and voice, Bringi and Kelly craft a listening experience that bridges traditions and invites reflection, connection, and joy.
“Meet the harpist using traditional Indian music and American jazz to ‘bridge worlds'” - NBC Asian America
“Elden. Wow. You sound so fantastic. Beautiful.” – Bill Frisell
Sheela Bringi - voice, harp, harmonium, bansuri bamboo flute
Elden Kelly - fretted/fretless guitar
All tickets include one complimentary glass of wine. In order to complete your listening experience with a gourmet sampling of The Elizabeth’s banquet menu, please purchase a VIP ticket ($50). Food is only available during the concert event with the purchase of a VIP ticket.
Many thanks to our Presenting Sponsors of The Magic Sunset Series: Denise Staab & Tamara Suppes, Realtors at The Group.
Sheela Bringi
Sheela Bringi, a multifaceted musician, effortlessly weaves her Indian roots with modern harmonies and deep rhythms from around the world. During her live performances, her refined skill on the harp, harmonium, and Indian bamboo flute, combined with her ethereal, Hindustani-inflected vocals, creates a captivating and transcendent experience for listeners with open ears and hearts.
Raised in the serene Colorado foothills by her Indian-origin parents, Sheela was immersed in the rich music and devotional chanting of her South Indian heritage. At the same time, she was fascinated by the harmonies and uninhibited spirit of American jazz and blues. As a teenager, she began studying jazz piano, which, alongside her strong foundation in Indian music, paved the way for her collaborations with diverse artists across many genres. She’s worked with experimental music composer Fred Frith, electronic world musician Karsh Kale, blues artist Clinton Patterson, and mantra musician Jai Uttal, among many others.
Her unique musical journey has been shaped by her studies with Indian bansuri legend GS Sachdev, imprinting her music with a spiritual depth rooted in Indian classical rāgas and their healing power. She has also had the great fortune to study with Indian maestro Aashish Khan, experimental harpist Susie Allen, as well as with creative music luminaries Cecil Taylor and Meredith Monk. She continues her study of Indian Classical music with vocal maestro Subhashish Mukhopadhay. Her broad-ranging musical learning enables her to move fluidly between and amidst worlds.
Her two solo albums, ‘Shakti Sutra’ and ‘Incantations,’ have received critical acclaim from media outlets like NBC News, NPR, and Public Radio International, highlighting her versatility and cultural impact. As an educator, Sheela Bringi is committed to sharing the transformative power of sacred sound and music. She serves as adjunct faculty at Naropa University in Boulder and is a co-founder and lead teacher in the Sacred Sound Lab, an online school educating a global community of students in sacred Indian music.
Elden Kelly
Guitar virtuoso, improviser, and composer Elden Kelly is one of the world’s best kept musical secrets. Audiences of all kinds are engaged by his virtuosity, expressiveness, and originality. As both a solo and collaborative artist, his approach is inventive and deeply moving—offering fresh solutions to the creative questions of every musical format. His strong, haunting vocal style adds another layer of emotional depth, whether performing his own songs or transforming a well-known theme.
Recently, Elden recorded with Howard Levy (harmonica player from Béla Fleck and the Flecktones). The world-renowned luthier Ken Parker called him a “once-in-a-generation player” and, so impressed, awarded him a 1980 nylon-string archtop guitar—“Frankie”—on permanent loan.
A longtime member of the Dave Sharp Worlds Quartet, Elden performed with the group across the U.S. and internationally, including at JazzAscona (Switzerland) in 2023 and 2024. After more than a decade of collaboration and creative growth in the Midwest, Elden relocated to Boulder, Colorado in October 2024, where he continues to compose, record, and perform.
There is truly no one else with the breadth, diversity, and richness of his musical blend. Classical and flamenco guitar influences merge with jazz, while his mastery of the fretless guitar evokes blues, Indian, and Middle Eastern traditions and beyond.
Elden is also an accomplished composer for solo guitar and ensemble, as well as a singer-songwriter. He has toured widely and performed or recorded with Regina Carter, Bakithi Kumalo, Jamey Haddad, Ralphe Armstrong, Marion Hayden, Dwight Adams, Gayelynn McKinney, and many of Detroit’s most respected musicians.
Originally from northwestern Vermont, Elden holds a Master’s in Musicology from Michigan State University and a Bachelor’s degree from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.
“Elden, you are a bad cat, a great player.” – Lionel Loueke (guitarist for Herbie Hancock)
“Elden Kelly’s music is like a chance meeting of brilliant forces embodied in one person: his illuminated guitar playing, hauntingly pure singing, and expansive songwriting are all on the same quest of metaphysical discovery in which he includes us, the lucky listeners.” – Dominique Eade (Boston-based jazz vocalist)
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