Leyla McCalla - Sun Without The Heat(US)

Leyla McCalla is a versatile singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist from New Orleans with Haitian roots, whose music blends afrobeat, Creole, American folk, jazz, blues, and psychedelic indie rock. She plays cello, banjo, and guitar with great emotion and precision, and her poetic lyrics often revolve around post-colonial, pan-African, and personal themes. With a unique ability to unite various musical traditions into her own distinct expression, McCalla creates a sound world that is both grounded and experimental – equally steeped in history and contemporary. Alongside her excellent band, she delivers everything from stripped-back ballads to rhythmically charged arrangements with a danceable energy.

McCalla has developed a sound that reflects the meeting of her cultural heritage and personal experiences. Her music is deeply influenced by Creole tradition, American jazz, and folk music – earthy, elegant, soulful, and witty. It vibrates with three centuries of history while feeling fresh and contemporary at the same time.

Born in New York City to Haitian immigrants and activists, McCalla draws inspiration from both her origins and the present. She is a multilingual multi-instrumentalist with a unique artistic voice. In addition to her solo work, she is a founding member of Our Native Daughters (alongside Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah, and Allison Russell) and a former member of the Grammy-winning band The Carolina Chocolate Drops. She has toured successfully in Europe for several years and performed at many prestigious folk and jazz festivals.

Her new album Sun Without the Heat (Anti Records, April 2024) is her fifth studio recording – a playful and vibrant album that simultaneously carries pain and inner transformation. Across its ten tracks, McCalla balances the heavy and the light with melodies and rhythms inspired by afrobeat, Ethiopian scales, Brazilian tropicalismo, highlife, American folk, and blues. The emotional cello playing and rhythmic guitars lend weight to the lyrics, reinforcing her search for identity.

However, Sun Without the Heat is more than just an album – it is a profound reflection on self-discovery and belonging. McCalla draws lyrical inspiration from Black feminist Afrofuturist thinkers such as Octavia Butler, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, and adrienne maree brown. Like them, she uses songwriting as a means to create hope, promote community, and pave the way for both inner and outer transformation. "Songwriting is a way to tell the stories that need to be told," she says. "Sometimes, they are painful stories."

On stage:
Leyla McCalla – vocals, cello, banjo, and guitar
Caito Sanchez – drums
Pete Olynciw – electric bass and upright bass
Nahum Zdybel – guitar