Kanaval: Haitian Rhythms and the Music of New Orleans, a new year-long project that explores and celebrates the influences of Haiti on New Orleans’ famed music, culture, and community is being launched today by Philadelphia public music radio station WXPN.
“As we’ve done with our Peabody Award-nominated Gospel Roots of Rock & Soul project and previous ones examining Mississippi Blues and Zydeco Crossroads, our Kanaval project is an in-depth exploration of a significant contributor to modern popular music,” said WXPN General Manager Roger LaMay. “The history and influence documented in Kanaval is an important but largely unheralded chapter in Black history and through it, we hope to help change the unjust narrative about Haiti as a nation of poor immigrants to one that has contributed significantly to our music and culture.”
Kanaval is a compelling story that is being told through a content-rich website and a national radio documentary set to air in February during Black History Month, in addition to a series of special musical, theatrical, and community events.
In the audio docu-series, Haitian musician Paul Beaubrun summarizes the primary theme of the project when he says, “In Haiti we have beauty, we have art, food, dance, music, and all of that keeps us through hard times. We came through slavery to make this world a better place and through the freedom to express this in the music, you hear the resilience, the rhythms and it connects straight to New Orleans.”
Distributed through NPR, the Kanaval audio docu-series ties the nation of Haiti and the city of New Orleans through a historical perspective, focusing on the music that connects them. It is produced by Alex Lewis, an award-winning independent radio producer and musician whose projects include “Going Black: The Legacy of Philly Soul Radio”, and WXPN’s “Gospel Roots of Rock and Soul”, among many other projects. The series is hosted by New Orleans-based, Haitian-American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Leyla McCalla, a founding member of Our Native Daughters and alumna of the Grammy award-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops.
More information about Kanaval will be available at xpn.org and WXPN social media channels, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. For ways to stream visit WXPN.
