Marcella Simien

Marcella Simien is a Louisiana-born, ninth-generation Creole artist, touring/recording musician, teaching artist, yoga instructor, and co-owner of Swamp Soul Records and Reynolds Audio. A daughter of two-time GRAMMY winner Terrance Simien, she’s known for a genre-blending sound rooted in Creole tradition and contemporary production.Her latest album- written, performed, and produced entirely by her (save for one song)- continues her mission to use music as a vehicle for healing and empowerment. Since becoming a certified yoga instructor in 2022, she’s integrated music, restorative practices, and community wellness into her offerings. Marcella is also about to begin training to become a certified Teaching Artist through Delta Arts and the Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts during the first week of December 2025. Across 15+ years, Marcella has performed for audiences across the U.S. and abroad, contributed vocals to a Disney project for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure amusement park ride, and appeared on the GRAMMY-winning Dockside Sessions. She has released seven albums between her solo work and her band Marcella & Her Lovers, Marcella & Les Vagues, and collaborated with legendary artists Guy Davis and Anne Harris in Gumbo, Grits & Gravy. In July 2025, Simien’s live performance of 3 new songs recorded in March, was featured on NPR’s World Cafe.

Marcella also co-creates Lelia’s Dream with artist Graham Burks Jr.- a multidisciplinary installation exploring identity, womanhood, and inner peace. Premiering to a sold-out audience in Memphis in 2025, the project is designed to travel and expand into educational and community engagement offerings. In 2025, she was featured in Carnegie Hall’s Musical Explorers educational program at the Savannah Music Festival, led an educational workshop at GRAMMY Museum Mississippi Summer Camp, and performed in children’s programming with GPAC. She is an alum of the Orpheum’s Teaching Artist Training program and continues to build work at the intersections of music, education, and wellness.

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