Leyla McCalla

She was born in New York, her parents are from Haiti, she grew up in Ghana and now lives in New Orleans: it's no wonder that Leyla McCalla's music combines a wide variety of styles, that she sings in several languages and deals with life in the diaspora. The singer-songwriter will be presenting her new album »Sun without the Heat« at her debut at the Wiener Konzerthaus. The title track alludes to a text by Frederick Douglass, who fought against slavery in the 19th century and was an ambassador to Haiti in the last years of his life. McCalla accompanies herself on cello, tenor banjo and guitar. When she rebels against injustice, racism or capitalism, it sounds beautiful: like Afrobeat, Ethiopian Modi, Brazilian tropicalismo and American folk and blues.