Chanteuse Meschiya Lake-Härm is bidding a fond farewell to New Orleans after 18 years. She was the figurehead, the homing beacon for the zeitgeist of the Frenchmen Street trad scene and will be sorely missed. She played her last regular gig at the Spotted Cat on May 1 and has since set off to her new home in Ireland.

What made you decide to leave New Orleans?

I’ve been here 18 years so not just one thing coul...