Louis Michot and Leyla McCalla: Homegrown Plus

Welcome to our newest publish within the Homegrown Plus sequence, that includes Louis Michot and Leyla McCalla, an excellent duo performing conventional French-language music from Louisiana. Identical to different blogs within the sequence, this one features a live performance video, a video interview with the musicians, and connections to Library of Congress collections. (Discover the entire sequence right here!)

Louis Michot is a fiddle participant and lead singer for the Grammy-award-winning Misplaced Bayou Ramblers. He’s enthusiastic about Louisiana French and native folklore. These pursuits gas his profession as a musician. Along with fiddle and vocals, Louis performs guitar, bass, ti-fer (triangle), and accordion–all of the devices of a typical Cajun band. He ceaselessly collaborates with different musicians, together with Leyla McCalla, accordionist Corey Ledet, the Rising Stars Drum and Fife Group, and one-man-band Quintron. Leyla McCalla was born in New York Metropolis to Haitian emigrants and activists, and her music attracts inspiration from the previous and current: three centuries of historical past and up to date influences from across the globe. McCalla is a grasp of the cello, tenor banjo, and guitar, in addition to a multilingual singer and songwriter. She is a founding member of Our Native Daughters (with Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah and Allison Russell), and has appeared on the Library of Congress as a member of the Grammy-award-winning Black string band The Carolina Chocolate Drops. Her solo work displays the union of her roots and expertise. Watch their live performance within the participant beneath!

This occasion spotlights the New Orleans-based Nous Basis, co-directed by Scott Tilton and Rudy Bazenet, and their Group Collections Grant challenge, “La Musique Nous Réunit: Documenting Louisiana French Music.” “La Musique nous réunit” (Music brings us collectively) is a music recording and interview documentation challenge aimed toward understanding how Louisiana musicians are adapting their cultural apply of performing conventional French-language music within the twenty first century. In 2025, the Nous Basis produced the “Musique(s)!” album and documentary movie, as primarily based on their CCG challenge, which options numerous musicians and musical teams, together with award-winning artists Leyla McCalla and Louis Michot. You’ll be able to study extra at this hyperlink. Within the interview, I chatted with Louis and Leyla about their very own careers, their connections to New Orleans and to Haiti, and their involvement with the Nous Basis. See it within the participant beneath!

You could find each of those movies with extra bibliographic info on the Library of Congress web site. You can too discover them on the Library of Congress YouTube channel.

Louis Michot plays fiddle — Louis Michot performs within the Coolidge Auditorium on March 26, 2025. Picture by Stephen Winick.

Assortment Connections

In case you loved the lecture and interview, take a look at the Assortment Connections beneath. You’ll discover hyperlinks to archival collections, guides, and different supplies associated to Cajun, Creole, Acadian, and Louisiana music and tradition.