Jazz on the Lawn’s 2026 theme of “A National Stage in the Neighborhood” is coming to fruition with the talented Gabrielle Cavassa. Her entrancing voice and poetic lyrics will bring a soulful, unforgettable energy to the stage.
After a short break from performing, Cavassa is looking forward to jumping back in for the highly anticipated event. She and her band are scheduled to perform September 25th at the Callanwolde Fine Arts Center. The nationally recognized jazz vocalist is sure to be a fan favorite with her passion, immense talent, and impactful music.
Who is Gabrielle Cavassa
The New Orleans-based singer has deeply understood the emotion behind music since childhood, long before she knew it could become a successful career. She started out as a jazz vocalist who has moved from independent releases to making her Blue Note debut. She describes the crazy transition as something that showed her how much the record making process changes with a devoted team and increased resources. The emotion, passion, and talent have been there her whole life, but with her team, Cavassa has created something immensely beautiful.
The meaning behind the music
Pulling inspiration from her own life, Cavassa’s songs explore deeply personal and complicated emotions and identities in poetic ways. She truly puts her heart and soul into the lyrics and gives a voice to all aspects of her personality. With her newest album, Diavola, Cavassa shines a spotlight on the parts of herself that might be viewed as negative. She explores the “villian” within her and recognizes she is not a flat character. The villain is still a nuanced individual who contains multitudes and plays a role in who Cavassa is as a whole.
This analysis comes from the societal expectation that women be perfect. In other words, society wishes to ignore negative aspects of identity while pushing only the positives. Cavassa flips this ideal on its head. Instead of starting from a place of being perfect, she starts from a place of imperfection and flaw. Diavola became about accepting complexity rather than trying to portray simplicity. She dives into the places most people tend to shy away from and comes out with relatable and poignant lyrics.
Within the album, “Diavola” was the hardest song for Cavassa to write. She poured her heart into it and still hadn’t been able to finish it until she was in the recording studio. Ironically, she wanted the song to be perfect while writing about a concept that required her to embrace imperfection. Despite the difficulty and emotional stress, “Diavola” became one of the most rewarding parts of the project.
Gabrielle’s goals
Cavassa masterfully writes lyrics with the intention of reaching people’s souls around the world. She describes how hearing relatable music is comforting in a way and hopes she can inspire that feeling in others. She wants people to hear her music and feel a connection – a feeling of safety within the song. For Cavassa, that emotional connection is what makes music powerful, even when listeners may experience a song differently. Of course, people have different preferences and tastes, but everyone is sure to understand the messages coming from Cavassa’s compelling songs.
Cavassa is looking forward to performing with her band again at Jazz on the Lawn in September. She also looks forward to releasing another album in the future. She has fallen in love with the process of recording and touring her music, viewing each stage as an opportunity for it to evolve. To her, music is its own living being—constantly changing, growing and becoming something new with every performance. With Gabrielle Cavassa, Jazz on the Lawn is not something you will want to miss.
Website: https://www.gabriellecavassa.com/
Instagram: Gabrielle Cavassa Instagram
Spotify: Gabrielle Cavassa Spotify
Tickets for Jazz on the Lawn: https://callanwolde.org/concerts/
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