PRESENTING

MUSIQUE(S)!

A CONTEMPORARY ANTHOLOGY
OF LOUISIANA MUSIC IN
FRENCH AND CREOLE

6 MUSICIANS

  • 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.

  • Louis Michot is best known as the fiddle player and lead singer for the Grammy-award-winning Lost Bayou Ramblers. He is passionate about Louisiana French and local folklore, and about sustainability in the fastest disappearing landmass in the world. With over 20 LPs to his name, his music career continues to push the boundaries of the Louisiana French music traditions.

  • Sweet Crude are an indie pop and rock band formed in 2013 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The lyrics of their songs combine English and Louisiana French, a variety of French spoken by members of singers’ Sam Chachere Craft and Alexis Marceaux’s families. The band released their debut album, Créatures, early in 2017, and have garnered a worldwide fan base.

  • ‘Sunpie’ is a renowned musician, ethnographic photographer, actor, author, and former pro football player (Kansas City Chiefs) — and current Big Chief of the Northside Skull and Bones Gang Mardi Gras group. Performing will fellow Louisiana Creole-singing musician, Leroy Etienne, Sunpie is one of New Orleans’s most beloved cultural advocates.

  • The New Orleans Baby Dolls tradition emerged around 1912 in the segregated red-light district of Black Storyville, as women of color challenged societal norms by parading during Mardi Gras in doll-like attire, expressing their identities and challenging taboos. Today, there are multiple groups of Baby Dolls who continue to participate in Mardi Gras and other events.

  • A contemporary string ensemble exploring the Creole diaspora through melody and memory to honor Afro-descendent cultural ancestors and preserve the plurality of their experiences through a prismatic and contemporary lens.

1 BOOK
1 ALBUM
1 EXHIBITION
1 DOCUMENTARY

A musical anthology to celebrate who we are. En musique(s).

In August 2024, we invited two Grammy-winning musicians & four musical ensembles from Louisiana — for a total of 28 artists — to record an original album to document their musical practices and show how they perpetuate a centuries-long tradition of music sung in French and Creole. We also filmed and interviewed them to produce a documentary, curate an exhibition, and publish a book. We love creating.

  • 120 pages.
    Original photos.
    In-depth interviews with each artist.
    Lyrics of all 12 songs included in our album (including their translation into English).

  • 2 Grammy-winning musicians & 4 musicians ensembles from Louisiana.
    12 songs in French and Creole.
    37’40”.

  • Interactive exhibit featuring music from the album and interviews with musicians showcasing how a centuries-old tradition of music in French from Louisiana is being innovated and passed to a new generation

  • 20-minute documentary with interviews with each musician and extracts from their music exploring why Louisiana musicians choose to sing in Louisiana French and Creole in the 21st century.

COMING MAY 7, 2025.
PRE-ORDER THE ALBUM HERE.

PRODUCED WITH
THE SUPPORT OF
THE LIBRARY OF
CONGRESS

In February 2024, the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress awarded us its prestigious Community Collections Grant. We have been thrilled to work with such an amazing partner and to have the opportunity to conduct research in the Library’s archives in Washington D.C. to bring this project to life.

The book, album, and film we created will be archived in the permanent collections of the Library of Congress — for future generations to experience.

COMING
MAY 7
2025

Following the official presentation of Musique(s)!, L’Album at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. on March 26, 2025, pre-orders for our album are now open (and pre-orders for our book will open on April 3!).

Starting May 7, 2025 (official release date), we will start shipping all pre-orders and both our book and album will also be available for purchase online and in our new space at 602 Toulouse St, in the heart of the French Quarter.

PRE-ORDER THE ALBUM HERE.

POWERED
BY NOUS

Nous, The New Orleans Foundation for Francophone Cultures, is an independent recording label, film studio, and publishing house.

Executive Producers: Scott Tilton, Rudy Bazenet
Artistic Directors: Autumn Palen, Katya Vaz

Merci to our partners:

The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress

Organisation internationale de la Francophonie

Gauthier Family Foundation

James Douglas Hislop

CreateLouisiana

TV5Monde

The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress Organisation internationale de la Francophonie Gauthier Family Foundation James Douglas Hislop CreateLouisiana TV5Monde

Video
Excerpts from Musique(s)!, Le Film (2025)