Songstress Eliza Rose Vera, inspired by her time in La Jolla, set to release new album this fall

San Diego resident Eliza Rose Vera said she wants people listening to her music to “feel sunshine.” Inspired by her time in La Jolla, and produced by a Bird Rock native, Vera has a new album coming out this fall.

“I relate the feeling [of the new songs] to when you are driving down to La Jolla Cove, looking out at the ocean, that golden hour light is coming through your car window, you are listening to your favorite song and feel like you are exactly where you are meant to be,” she said. “That is what these songs communicate to me. I wanted the songs to emulate that feeling.”

She also describes them as “sparkly” with oceanic sounds courtesy of guitar and synthesizer.

Vera’s mother lived in La Jolla for 20 years and designed jackets out of a studio on Drury Lane. While Vera spent the first four years of her life in La Jolla, she moved to and grew up in New York.

“I love that I’m a second-generation creative [person] that can express themselves in La Jolla,” Vera said, and that she performed at the La Jolla Nights community outings in 2015 and at Trilogy Sanctuary off and on over the years. With the guitar on her lap, people in La Jolla often told Vera she reminded them of singer Nora Jones.

When it came to writing her own songs and creating an album, she said, “I had performed for years across San Diego and gained the perspective that I wanted to make people feel sunshine and leave smiling. In the past, I would write music as diary entries, and I would play shows with those songs but there would be an emotional roller coaster. I’ve been so fortunate and feel so grateful and wanted to bring that to people. I want to fill you with inspiration.”

And to make that dream a reality, she needed Bird Rock native and producer Mallory Hauser, who goes by Mal. “She’s my number one girl,” Vera said.

Singer Eliza Rose Vera in studio working on her upcoming album

(Courtesy of Eliza Rose Vera)

But making that connection started almost a decade ago.

“I used to play music on the University of San Diego campus, and I became friends with Sierra Hauser, who said I had to meet her sister [Mallory],” Vera explained. “That was eight or nine years ago. Three years later, I started working at Hi Sweetheart on Ivanhoe Avenue, and the owner knew the Hauser family as well. She kept suggesting I reach out to this girl Mal, and I didn’t realize it was the same person.”

In January, without intentionally seeking Mal Hauser out, Vera found her music on Instagram.

“I loved her music and messaged her [on Instagram] and asked who her producer was, she told me she produced it herself and I asked if she was willing to work with other artists. I thought we could be a good match,” Vera said. “When she said her sister [Sierra] lived in San Diego, I started to realize she was the one people had been trying to connect me with for years!”

While Mal Hauser’s family still lives in Bird Rock, she lives in Los Angeles, and Vera and Mal Hauser work together virtually and through occasional visits to record.

“I currently have four songs that I worked with her on and 11 songs total,” Vera said, and that the first single is set to drop in October. Those wanting to hear the music when it drops can visit elizarosevera.com or Instagram.com/elizarosevera. ◆