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With the threat of rain keeping crowds within arms length of shelter, Leyla McCalla enjoyed a packed Lagniappe Stage at the New Orleans JAzz & Heritage Festival May 5.

McCalla led a four- and five-piece ensemble turning the relative serenity and sitting-down-ness of the Lagniappe Stage into an important piece of theater, all eyes fixed on her, loosening the drama of her gorgeous, sometimes-playful, sometimes-heartbreaking songs with her masterful calm.

A multi-instrumentalist with a manifold interpretation of Haitian music and its resonant American folkways, McCalla explained the set was likely her last for a while. She?s pregnant with twins, due within the next month or so.?