Sabine McCalla (Haitian/Folk/Indie) Album "Don't Call Me Baby" [Out NOW!]

Sabine McCalla’s debut album Don’t Call Me Baby is a vibrant blend of multicultural American roots music, weaving together Brazilian samba, Southern soul, British rock & roll, Caribbean rhythms, and New Orleans tradition. Released via Gar Hole Records, the album reflects her Haitian heritage and her adopted musical home of New Orleans. Its single, “Sunshine Kisses,” was inspired by Brazilian music, Adrienne Maree Brown’s Pleasure Activism, and a moment of heartbreak that birthed the song’s title phrase. The track came to life collaboratively, with Brazilian-American musician Ajaï Combellic shaping its samba groove and the band adding psychedelic layers, harmonies, and shifting verses to create a dreamy, emotional soundscape.

Raised in New York by first-generation Haitian parents, Sabine grew up surrounded by a wide spectrum of music, from chamber violin studies to Motown, Beatles classics, girl group harmonies, Bob Marley, and Haitian folk songs. These influences gave her an early awareness of how different musical traditions intersect. She carried that curiosity forward in her songwriting, finding connections between cultures, eras, and genres. Her previous release, a Folk EP that earned her a slot at the Newport Folk Festival, hinted at this artistic vision; Don’t Call Me Baby expands it dramatically.

Across the album’s nine songs, Sabine explores country, doo-wop, R&B, blues, Caribbean rhythms, gospel, and rock & roll, often collaborating with New Orleans musicians who helped shape the record’s community-driven sound. Tracks like “Tall Lonesome Cowboy” and “Anything Without You” nod to vintage eras, while “Deep River” and “I Went to the Levee” highlight both spiritual depth and contemporary social struggle. More than a genre mosaic, the album mirrors the story of American folk music itself, a tapestry of cultures woven together. With a voice rich as the Southern air, Sabine McCalla transforms her influences into something new, personal, and deeply rooted in the musical legacy of New Orleans.

Sabine McCalla Linktree