Spellbinding Music
Genre-bending & spine-tingling
Born in New-York and based in New Orleans, folk singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Leyla McCalla is the daughter of Haitian parents who emigrated to the US in the 1960s. In other words, Haiti and Haitian culture have always been a grounding presence throughout her discography to date. Her three previous solo albums …
Continue Reading about Leyla McCalla: Breaking the Thermometer →
From the beginning of our musical partnership we have been struck with the commonality of the human experience through music; how instruments, modes and the very functions of songs and tunes are universal from culture to culture. In 2017, singer songwriter, banjo and fiddle player Rhiannon Giddens released Freedom Highway, …
Continue Reading about Rhiannon Giddens with Francesco Turrisi: There is no Other →
It feels like everyone’s in a pressure cooker in this country Born in New-York City of Haitian parents, cellist, banjo player and singer songwriter Leyla McCalla settled in New-Orleans in 2010. As time goes by, Leyla McCalla’s music is digging ever so deeper into the kaleidoscopic cultural diversity of the Deep South. …
Continue Reading about Leyla McCalla: The Capitalist Blues →
Know thy history. Let it horrify you; let it inspire you. Let it show you how the future can look, for nothing in this world has not come around before. Originally from North Carolina, banjo, fiddle player and singer Rhiannon Giddens is also a music historian at heart. Through her work with Carolina Chocolate Drops, the …
Born in New-York, raised in New-Jersey and relocating to New Orleans in 2010, Leyla McCalla is a young Haitian American singer songwriter accompanying herself on the cello, banjo and guitar. Following a remarkable first album (Vari-Colored Songs - 2014) which revisited the words of African American poet Langston Hughes with new …
Continue Reading about Leyla McCalla: A Day for the Hunter, A Day for the Prey →
Born in New-York, Leyla McCalla is a classically-trained cellist, banjo and guitar player of Haitian descent. After years of freelancing and teaching the cello, the musician’s decision to move to New Orleans, Louisiana in 2010 proved decisive for her career. The outcome of five years of research and financed through a very …
