Welcome to our latest post in the Homegrown Plus series, featuring Louis Michot and Leyla McCalla, an outstanding duo performing traditional French-language music from Louisiana. Just like other blogs in the series, this one includes a concert video, a video interview with the musicians, and connections to Library of Congress collections. (Find the whole series here!)
Louis Michot is a fiddle player and lead singer for the Grammy-award-winning Lost Bayou Ramblers. He is passionate about Louisiana French and local folklore. These interests fuel his career as a musician. In addition to fiddle and vocals, Louis plays guitar, bass, ti-fer (triangle), and accordion–all the instruments of a typical Cajun band. He frequently collaborates with other musicians, including Leyla McCalla, accordionist Corey Ledet, the Rising Stars Drum and Fife Group, and one-man-band Quintron. Leyla McCalla was born in New York City to Haitian emigrants and activists, and her music draws inspiration from the past and present: three centuries of history and contemporary influences from around the globe. McCalla is a master of the cello, tenor banjo, and guitar, as well as 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 at the Library of Congress as a member of the Grammy-award-winning Black string band The Carolina Chocolate Drops. Her solo work reflects the union of her roots and experience. Watch their concert in the player below!
This event spotlights the New Orleans-based Nous Foundation, co-directed by Scott Tilton and Rudy Bazenet, and their Community Collections Grant project, “La Musique Nous Réunit: Documenting Louisiana French Music.” “La Musique nous réunit” (Music brings us together) is a music recording and interview documentation project aimed at understanding how Louisiana musicians are adapting their cultural practice of performing traditional French-language music in the 21st century. In 2025, the Nous Foundation produced the “Musique(s)!” album and documentary film, as based on their CCG project, which features a number of musicians and musical groups, including award-winning artists Leyla McCalla and Louis Michot. You can learn more at this link. In the interview, I chatted with Louis and Leyla about their own careers, their connections to New Orleans and to Haiti, and their involvement with the Nous Foundation. See it in the player below!
You can find both of these videos with more bibliographic information on the Library of Congress website. You can also find them on the Library of Congress YouTube channel.
Collection Connections
If you enjoyed the lecture and interview, check out the Collection Connections below. You’ll find links to archival collections, guides, and other materials related to Cajun, Creole, Acadian, and Louisiana music and culture.
Leyla McCalla
Louis Michot
Guides
Check out our Resource Guide to Louisiana Collections.
Online Collections
- The Maine Acadian Cultural Survey Collection contains French-language culture from Acadians in Maine.
- The Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve Collection consists of interviews and photographs about southern Louisiana life and culture.
- The Rhode Island Folklife Project Collection contains materials from New England Acadians.
- The Alan Lomax Collection of Michigan and Wisconsin Recordings contains French Canadian materials.
- The John and Ruby Lomax 1939 Southern States Recording Trip contains materials from Louisiana.
- John and Alan Lomax’s 1934 Louisiana recordings have been placed online by an external partner.
Homegrown Plus Blogs
- Sean Ardoin’s Creole Rock N Soul
- Steve Riley and the Riley Family Band–Cajun Music from Louisiana
- Cedric Watson Trio–Creole Music from Louisiana
- Vishtèn–Acadian Music from Canada
- Yvette Landry Trio–Cajun Music and Louisiana Honky-Tonk
- Beausoleil Quartet–Cajun Music from Louisiana
Other Homegrown Concerts
- Marce Lacouture with David Greely and Kristi Guillory: Cajun Music from Louisiana
- Creole United: African American Creole Music from Louisiana
- Dennis Stroughmatt et L’Esprit Creole: Upper Louisiana French Creole Music from Missouri
Botkin Lectures
- Barry Jean Ancelet on Theory and Practice of Folklore in Cajun and Creole Louisiana
- Joshua Clegg Caffery on John and Alan Lomax’s 1934 Louisiana Recordings
- Burt Feintuch on Cultural Integrity & Local Music: Cape Breton Fiddle, New Orleans Funk
- Camille Moreddu on Songs and Tunes from the French Creole Corridor/ Musiques du corridor franco-créole
Merci!
Thanks for Watching! You can find more Homegrown Plus blogs here!