Leyla McCalla: ‘La Bal est Fini’

Based in New Orleans, Leyla McCalla is a talented multi-instrumentalist known for her work in Carolina Chocolate Drops and her project Our Native Daughters, alongside Rhiannon Giddens, Allison Russell, and Amythist Kiah. At the age of 10, McCalla spent her  summer vacation at her grandmother’s home in Haiti, while her mother, a lawyer, traveled throughout the country working on legal advocacy during a turbulent time. This was a seminal experience for McCalla and became the driving theme for her new album, “Breaking The Thermometer.” “Le Bal est Fini,” French for “The party is over,” is based on an editorial piece and one of the highlights from her new recording.