Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts

Songs, Stories, and Identities: Creolization Across the Caribbean and the U.S. South

Thursday, March 20, 2025

2:30 pm - 4:00 pm

This event explores and celebrates the global impact of Creole music and culture, with an emphasis on French speaking regions, including parts of the Caribbean, the U.S. South, Canada, and France. A panel of three prominent personalities in the fields of Creole music performance, research, and outreach will share their thoughts and experiences, including: French-Guadeloupean journalist and Radio France host, Bertrand Dicale; Canadian-Haitian singer-songwriter, Mélissa Laveaux; and “Afro-Luisiana” musician and carnival Big Chief, Bruce Barnes (who appeared in HBO’s Treme and NCIS: New Orleans). The panel discussion and Q&A will be co-chaired by Damjan Rakonjac, Visiting Assistant Professor of Musicology at the Moores School of Music, and Kavita Singh, Associate Professor in the English Department, a Caribbean literature specialist. Co-organized by the Institute for Global Engagement, the Department of Modern & Classical Languages, and the Moores School of Music, this event kicks-off the broader French Cultures Festival, March 20 – April 20, a month-long celebration of French-speaking cultures and communities, organized in part by the Consulate General of France in Houston and Villa Albertine. The event is free and open to the public.