Leyla McCalla performs at Hancher

Part of Hancher’s 52nd Season

Part of Club Hancher

Steeped in history, a first-rate storyteller offers music that is sometimes urgent and sometimes playful.

Leyla McCalla’s music—including her latest record, Sun Without the Heat—is a potent amalgam of history and mastery. That history includes three centuries of influences from all around the world, while the mastery is found in her skill as a cellist, a tenor banjo player, a guitarist, a multilingual singer, and a songwriter. Her music balances the heavy and the light and draws from sources across the African diaspora—including Afrobeat, Ethiopian modalities, Brazilian Tropicalismo, American blues, and Haitian folk music.

“Leyla McCalla has long been one of the most thoughtful figures working to trace American folk music’s lineage to other countries and continents.” — Bandcamp

Leyla McCalla Website