Cassie Watson Francillon x Sasha Masakowski
The duo collaboration of harp, electronics, dreamstate bass & sultry-cerebral beats. Ambient, raw and ethereal components merge, transform and leave space for reflection and possibilities. The project started as a DIY activation in their neighborhood record shop in New Orleans and led to the recording + release of their album SUITE, mixed by Nick Hook (Run the Jewels, Lido Pimienta) and mastered by Joe LaPorta (David Bowie, Emily Wells).
Cassie Watson Francillon is a New Orleans-based avant-garde harpist, interdisciplinary artist, activist, collaborator and producer; breaking conventions to construct “sacred sonic architecture” on her concert grand harp. Influenced by hip-hop, jazz, psychedelia, and Black American spirituals, she crafts a powerfully expressive and fresh, modern-day revival through distinctive soundscapes, composition and improvisation. Proclaiming, “This is not a recital. We do this to set people free,” her approach marks an underground & formidable presence in redefining the voice of a classical instrument in contemporary culture.
This lense of liberation creates a sound that reflects the journey, joy and lamentations of Black American transcendence, coupled with spiritually-sonic investigations of her father’s Haitian lineage. Recent installations include “Consortium” collaborative black sonic technology (2022-3), “Lanati” liberation of acoustic sound for well being in a public environment as nature (2024), and movements for Ron Bechet’s From the Storms of Our Souls, Contemporary Arts Center New Orleans (2025). Her solo acoustic album “This Appears To Disappear” (2020) received an outpour of attention for its bold, spiritual center and received a nod in Pitchfork and by Grammy-nominated harpist Brandee Younger in Harp Column Magazine. Her electro-ambient collaborations include albums “Suite” (2025) with Sasha Masakowski and “KāFOU” (2025) with Val Jeanty. She has been a special contributor for recordings and lineups with John Cameron Mitchell, Helen Gillet, Tank and the Bangas, Chief Adjuah (fka Christian Scott), Curtis Lundy, Mark Bingham, Lilli Lewis, Leyla McCalla, Charm Taylor, Julie Odell, Irreversible Entanglements, Isaiah Collier, People Museum, Val Jeanty, Ben LaMar Gay, Sasha Masakowski, Lollise and many more.
More information at: linktr.ee/cassandharp
Sasha Masakowski, daughter of jazz guitar luminary Steve Masakowski, was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana and has been a leading artist on the New Orleans music scene for many years as a vocalist, composer and producer. Sasha was listed as one of 12 jazz artists to watch in 2019 by Paste Magazine, Offbeat Magazine calls her “One of the brightest young talents in the Big Easy,” Vanity Fair Magazine listed Sasha as one of the top jazz musicians in the U.S. and Downbeat Magazine has named Sasha among the most innovative musicians coming out of New Orleans to date. Over the last several years, Sasha has performed with her band at major clubs and festivals across the United States and abroad, such as the legendary Blue Note (NYC), Jazz at Lincoln Center Shanghai, Cotton Club Tokyo, Jazz Standard (NYC), Detroit Jazz Festival, SF Jazz Center (San Francisco), Copenhagen Jazz Festival, Bird’s Basement (Melbourne) San Jose Jazz Festival, Phoenix Musical Instrument Museum, and New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, among others. Sasha’s approach to music is as playful, charismatic, and spontaneous as her personality. Her influences draw from jazz to electronic music to rock and she performs frequently in fully improvised settings to help cultivate her exotic style. Sasha has earned a reputation internationally as a daring, fearless improviser and a charming interpreter, working often alongside other progressive, genre-defying musicians such as Nicholas Payton, Jason Lindner, Zach Danziger, Kevin Scott, Adonis Rose, Tarionna “Tank” Ball, Sullivan Fortner, Mike Moreno and Aurora Nealand to name a few.
More information at: sashamasakowski.com
Look forward to Cassie and Sasha’s performance at 5pm on Sunday – September 28, 2025