INTERVIEW: Alessandro DeCaro
Hailing from Dallas, Texas, post-punk outfit Rosegarden Funeral Party are bringing back the black-clad goth glory days of the ‘80s, albeit through a modern and forward-thinking lens. Fronted by vocalist and guitarist Leah Lane, Rosegarden Funeral Party have become a prominent fixture in the modern goth scene, releasing three vulnerable yet deceptively catchy full-length albums, including the most recent offering, 2024’s From The Ashes, leading the band to grace stages not only in the US countless times, but across the pond in the UK and Europe to an increasingly warm reception.
As of late 2026, Rosegarden Funeral Party have been hard at work on their highly anticipated fourth studio album, recently sharing the first taste of new music with the Siouxsie and the Banshees-inspired ripper “Void,” signaling a crucial leap forward in this next era of the band. Additionally, Rosegarden Funeral Party will support legendary gothic rock act She Wants Revenge this October through November, bringing their ceremonial and community-oriented live performances across several sold-out dates and some of the biggest stages they have played in their career thus far.
Ahead of their upcoming tour dates with She Wants Revenge and the release of their new single “Void,” we caught up with Rosegarden Funeral Party vocalist and guitarist Leah Lane to unpack the origins of the band, the evolution behind their highly anticipated fourth studio album, new songwriting approaches, vulnerability, fashion, and so much more.
Additionally, we hooked Leah Lane up with a few select TPC items, all of which are available now on our store, and snapped some stunning photos to provide the ultimate Pretty Cult Style Guide!
Read the interview and view the style guide below!
Can you walk us through the origins of Rosegarden Funeral Party and what your main goal or mission statement was when you first started?
Leah Lane: Rosegarden Funeral Party truly began in January of 2018. The band did exist in some strange form or another before then, but I (and other original members of the band) don’t consider RFP existing before 2018. Rosegarden Funeral Party was born out of my breakup with the first person I ever loved. I was deeply heartbroken, confused, but I still had so much love in my heart for them. I needed somewhere to redirect this love, and I poured it into this band and this music. Writing songs has always been my personal form of therapy. It helps me to better understand myself, as I find that when I’m singing, I don’t have time to lie to myself. Writing these initial songs helped me to heal and process the end of my relationship, and I thought, well, maybe if they helped me, they might help someone else too. This is when I started releasing these songs with the prayer that they might go on to help someone else feel less alone in their pain.
I have told every crowd I have ever had the honor of singing to my mission statement before the last two songs of every set. I recite it every night just like this:
“We hope when you see Rosegarden Funeral Party, you take away two things from the experience:
The first is, as you go through this life, you are going to meet people who act in ways that confuse you, and sometimes they are going to act in ways that deeply hurt you. Although we encourage you to set boundaries with those that hurt you, we also encourage you to treat those people with love and kindness and tolerance and respect and patience, because they are going through something that you might not always understand. So, the first thing we hope you take away is to be kind to each other.
The second thing we hope you take away from this is all that love and kindness and tolerance and respect and patience that you give to other people, it is equally, if not more, important that you also learn to show that to yourself because you are also going through a journey that not everyone is always going to understand, and we want you to remember to nurture yourself on that journey. And on that note, we want to remind you that your friends love you so much and your family loves you so much, and whether your family is blood family or street family, like the people in this room, they are equally valid. So the second thing we want you to remember is that we love you.”
Be Kind to Each Other, We Love You has been the mantra and mission statement for the band since the beginning, and it will always be until the last show.
Leah Lane (Rosegarden Funeral Party) wearing the Dark Solstice Dress, Le Fay Necklace & Woe Blade Harness
Who are some of the most crucial musical influences in the goth and post-punk world that inform the sound of Rosegarden Funeral Party?
Leah Lane: I do have deeply rooted goth/post-punk influences such as Bauhaus, Pink Turns Blue, Flowers for Agatha, Skeletal Family, and, of course, Siouxsie and the Banshees. However, the band is also deeply influenced by bands that are not goth at all, such as White Lies, Editors, Interpol, and the National. I also love Roxy Music and really anything Bryan Ferry has ever done, and I can say the same for David Sylvian. I love a lot of music, and I think it all influences Rosegarden Funeral Party in some way or another. I like a lot of early ’90s shoegaze bands, ’60s psychedelia, ’70s art rock, early 2000s post-punk revival… I’m all over the map musically… Like most people, I owe a lot to David Bowie.
Leah Lane (Rosegarden Funeral Party) wearing the Dark Solstice Dress, Le Fay Necklace & Woe Blade Harness
For someone hearing Rosegarden Funeral Party for the first time, what is the first song from your catalog that you would want people to hear and why?
Leah Lane: “Salvation and Saving Face.” I feel that song really encapsulates the themes of my music and my lyrics. It could also be just because it’s my favorite song I’ve ever written…
“I was a martyr, you pulled me under
All of these scars I can’t cover
I wish I were better
I wish it were over
You left my hyper heart out on the water
Promises get broken, hearts get stolen
Sometimes you don’t get them back
Where is the exit?
Where’s the medication?
How do I let go of my dedication?”
Rosegarden Funeral Party has released three full-length albums since your inception, with the most recent being the 2024 album From The Ashes. As you are now hard at work on your next record, what can you reveal about this next offering? Do you feel like this album is going to be a major leap and evolution when looking at the scope of your discography so far?
Leah Lane: I hope that it will be a leap forward. I believe in this music more so than I have believed in any of my previous material. I think this album is more mature in a lot of ways, but still holds a lot of the hope and the yearning as my previous music does. I changed everything with this album, from the people I worked with to create it to the way I wrote it. I usually write all the songs for Rosegarden Funeral Party on either piano or acoustic guitar… They all begin as ballads, and I build the songs from that very stripped-down place. However, on this new album, I wrote everything on bass. I wrote the music first and the lyrics and melody last… Very new for me, but I think it allowed me to experience a new kind of freedom in crafting music that I’ve never experienced before. If anyone reading this struggles with writer's block, try changing your instrument, change your approach, you might be really pleased with what happens.
Your lyrical output has always been rooted in vulnerability and catharsis. What headspace have you been in while working on this new record and what are you finding yourself exploring both thematically and lyrically?
Leah Lane: I think I will always pull from the same place when writing music for Rosegarden Funeral Party. Vulnerability and catharsis are large categories. A lot of my previous work touches specifically on loss and the consequences of that loss. This new music definitely has that same subject matter, but it’s framed in a new lens. This is the first music I've written in a long time that has anger in it, not just sadness. This music has acceptance, not just regret. There is a sort of emotional exile in this record that feels very new to me.
Switching gears, who or what is your biggest style/fashion icon or inspiration?
Leah Lane: To answer this question properly, I have to mention what was the biggest fashion moment for me as a teenager. Do you remember YSL’s “Psych Rock Collection” (Spring/Summer 2015) by Hedi Slimane? That collection changed my life. It sounds a little silly to type that out, but it's true! Those looks have influenced me from the moment they came out to now. Still, to this day, it is one of my absolute favorite moments in fashion history. I am also a massive fan of Bob Mackie and Thierry Mugler. I am also greatly influenced by ’80s fashion, obviously. ’80s fashion especially speaks to me because the clothing has architecture. I love sharp silhouettes.
Leah Lane (Rosegarden Funeral Party) wearing the Dark Solstice Dress, Le Fay Necklace & Woe Blade Harness
What is your process like when putting together outfits for your live shows?
Leah Lane: Putting together an outfit for live shows is a lot easier than putting something together for a music video or a photo shoot. Basically, if it’s tight, black, and I can sweat in it, it works! I think that accessories are the saving grace of my live outfits because without them, the outfits themselves really are very simple. My waterfall chain belt is a staple. I’ve had it since I was 16.
Outside of music, what does a typical day in your life look like, and do you have any hobbies or routines that help keep you grounded?
Leah Lane: There is very little of my life that exists outside of music, honestly, but my family means a lot to me, and I love to spend time with them as much as possible. My brother has a son that just turned two, so I’m enjoying getting to watch him become a father, and I’m enjoying being an aunt. In my downtime, I will admit, I do like video games… specifically, two. I like most of the Zelda titles. I’ve played almost all of them. Twilight Princess is my favorite. Right now, I’m struggling my way through Elden Ring. Pure masochism. I’m getting better, but… at what cost?!
If Rosegarden Funeral Party’s music could be the soundtrack to any film or TV show, what would it be and why?
Leah Lane: Oh, man, I have no idea. I don’t really watch movies or TV really at all. I always get poked fun at for it. I did just recently watch Alien and Aliens for the first time on an airplane and really loved those movies… However, I don’t think Rosegarden Funeral Party’s music really fits that vibe.
Looking ahead, you have a tour supporting She Wants Revenge coming up. What are you looking forward to the most about this upcoming run of shows? Are there any cities in particular you are the most excited about playing?
Leah Lane: I’m excited for all of it, honestly. It’s been a really long time since we’ve played Canada, so I’m really excited to finally come back again.
Leah Lane (Rosegarden Funeral Party) wearing the Dark Solstice Dress, Le Fay Necklace & Woe Blade Harness
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