Leyla McCalla joins Rhiannon Giddens for an African-American female banjo quartet in "Songs of Our Native Daughters" at Carnegie Hall

Leyla McCalla is a Haitian Creole singer-songwriter from New Orleans who is one of America's great voices.

She is a bridge between the sweet Caribbean music of Haiti and New Orleans and the country music of the United States. Yes, country music from the United States has African roots. You would think it was the exception that proved the rule that most American popular culture originated in the African diaspora, but there is no exception. The banjo is an African instrument.

McCalla is a unique artist in that she plays what is clearly "American" country music, but she also takes you back to New Orleans and takes you all the way back to Haiti. So at McCalla you can see the branches and some of the roots. The relationships between the music are much clearer than if you just compared three different artists.

Leyla McCalla joins Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah and Allison Russel for a banjo quartet of African-American female music in "Songs of Our Native Daughters" at Carnegie Hall Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage on Friday, November 4, 2022 at 8 p.m. Starting at $32. carnegiehall.org