Leyla McCalla brings diverse set to Lotus

The eclectic sounds of musician Leyla McCalla filled a packed First Christian Church on Saturday night at the 20th annual Lotus World Music and Arts Festival.

McCalla, a singer and multi-instrumentalist who plays cello, banjo and guitar, entertained the crowd with the help of band mate Josh Kossman during her more-than-one-hour set.

She performed a variety of songs including several from her upcoming album “Vari-Colored Songs,” which is set to be released in February 2014.

McCalla raised more than $20,000 last December through a campaign on Kickstarter to cover the costs of making the album, which she describes as a tribute to Langston Hughes. 

“I felt his life, legacy and body of work was so inspiring,” she said of the poet.
McCalla said she related to his words.

 “He really made me want to be an artist, so it seemed appropriate to share his works through my music,” she said.

In addition to compositions she wrote to Hughes’s poetry, the album will include original pieces and Haitian folk songs.

McCalla, who was raised in New Jersey by her Haitian-immigrant parents, studied cello performance and chamber music at New York University before moving to her current home in New Orleans in 2010.

She told the audience at Saturday’s show of her deep connection to her parents’ native country.

“I’ve been exploring a lot of Haitian music,” she said. “It’s become a big part of my repertoire.”

She also spoke about the misconceptions many people have about the Caribbean nation.

Some of the stereotypes she listed included the poverty and devastation presented in the media.

“There’s a lot of reasons for why Haiti is the way it is,” McCalla said. “It’s not inherent to just Haiti. It’s inherent to the way some countries have dealt with power.”

Although this was her first time performing at Lotus, McCalla said she and Kossman were enjoying their experience at the festival.

“We’ve had such a great time just walking around and being with other artists,” she said. “It’s so wonderful to have a space to share our music.”

McCalla spoke about meeting other Lotus performers, including Nomadic Massive, a Montreal hip-hop group that’s made up of people from all different backgrounds.

“Some of the guys in Nomadic Massive are Haitian, so we spoke Creole to each other,” she said.

She also invited two members of David Wax Museum onto the stage to accompany her in a song.

“It’s great to have these guys to fill out our sound,” she said.

At the end of her set, McCalla thanked the crowd as she received a standing ovation.
“I can’t say enough how happy we are to be a part of the festival this year, and we hope to be back again,” she said.

Follow reporter Rachel Osman on Twitter @rachosman.