LHASA DE SELA : SINGING LEGACY HONOURS

'' Her voice transcended language ''. At Pop Montreal concerts will honour the cherished legacy of Lhasa de Sela.

Montreal's wide-ranging music scene has been one of its calling cards for decades, with border-crossing success stories like the ambitious rock band Arcade Fire, the arty electro-pop artist Grimes and the renowned post-rock modernists Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

Yet one of the musicians most beloved there is the spellbinding Lhasa de Sela, who wrote and sang in English, French and Spanish, but remains largely unknown in the United States.

She was usually referred to simply as Lhasa, and before she died in 210 at 37, she became a platinum selling recording artist in Canada, with genre-busting albums that synthesized Romany music, Mexican rancheras, Portuguese fados, Americana, chansons francaises and South American ballads, marrying them with mystical romantic and intensely personal lyrics.

In Europe, where Lhasa was a mainstay of the festival circuit, and lived in Marseille, France, for several years, she became a star on the strength of her intimate performances.

But in the United States, where she was born and spent most of her childhood, Lhasa's multilingual recordings proved too much of a marketing challenge for her American record companies, even after she toured with Sarah McLachlan's traveling festival, Lilith Fair.

Feist, Calexico, Juana Molina, Silvana Estrada and many other stars will perform in the tribute concerts that will cap this year's Pop Montreal festival.

The World Students Society thanks Fred Goodman.