Leyla McCalla enchants audiences with her consummate musicianship, infectious personality, and commitment to social change, all set to her engaging and dynamic music. McCalla – who first trained as a cellist but also sings in several languages and excels on guitar and banjo - burst upon the scene as a member of the Grammy-winning string band, The Carolina Chocolate Drops. She left the group in 2013 to explore different musical paths. She is gaining a world-wide reputation as a solo act and as a member of the band Our Native Daughters, a supergroup with fellow banjo players Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah, and Allison Russell.
McCalla’s Haitian-born parents are social activists who raised their family in the New York area. Leyla moved to New Orleans in 2010 after earning a degree in cello performance; her sister Sabine McCalla is also a New Orleans musician. Leyla McCalla weaves strong social messages into her well-crafted tunes; for example, her album Vari-Colored Songs is a tribute to Langston Hughes, and includes original tunes sung in Haitian Creole. Her 2022 release, Breaking the Thermometer was cited as a top album of the year by The Guardian, Variety, Mojo and National Public Radio, and her song “Dodinin” made Barack Obama’s short list of favorites. McCalla has won several prestigious awards, including the 2022 People’s Voice Award by Folk Alliance International, an award given to artists who unabashedly embrace social change in their creative work. McCalla’s 2024 release, Sun Without the Heat, was forged at the hit-making Dockside Studios near Lafayette, Louisiana, and includes her working band: Shawn Meyers on drums, Nahum Zdybel on guitars, and bassist Pete Olynciw, as well as Maryam Qudus on synth and organ and a guest appearance from Louis Michot of the Lost Bayou Ramblers. Indeed, one of the factors that sets McCalla apart is the fresh way she weaves social and deeply emotional themes with a unique collection of instrumentations and influences, from Haitian Kreole to Brazilian to Afrobeat to Louisiana Cajun. She lives in New Orleans with her family when not on the road.
