Kaia Kater
Kater in July 2018
Kater in July 2018
Background information
BornSeptember 1993 (age 30)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
OriginGrenadian-Canadian
Genres
Instrument(s)voice, banjo, piano, guitar
LabelsSmithsonian Folkways Recordings (Outside Canada)
Websitekaiakater.com

Kaia Kater (born in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, guitar, piano and banjo player.

Background

Kater was born in Montreal, Quebec, where she spent her early childhood in Mile End.[1] She started playing the banjo at 12 years old.[2] She also lived in Wakefield, Ottawa and Winnipeg before attending Davis & Elkins college in Elkins, West Virginia on a banjo scholarship.[3][4] In Elkins, she also learned to flatfoot and deepened her knowledge of body percussion (hambone).[4] Kater spoke about her experience being a woman of color in West Virginia, and experiencing racism. "If 70 or 75 percent of the time it was a wonderful experience, there was also that other part of the experience where I did encounter some racism, or I witnessed racism. I felt the racial divide very strongly, more so than in Canada".[2] Her mother is from Quebec, and her father immigrated to Canada from Grenada as a teenager in 1986 as part of a young speakers program, after the U.S. invasion.[5]

She grew up spending significant time in the North American folk music community, attending festivals, camps and conferences frequently during her teen years.[6]

Musical career

At 17, she recorded her first EP recording titled "Rappin' Shady Grove" that she claims was inspired by Drake and his storytelling in his songs.[2]

She released her first EP Old Soul in 2012, and her first full-length album Sorrow Bound in 2014.[7]

In 2016, she won the "Pushing the Boundaries" award at the 12th Canadian Folk Music Awards for her third album, Nine Pin.[8] The Guardian reviewed it as "tremendous" with four stars out of five.[9] Rolling Stone noted Kater's mixture of traditional banjo playing and "sobering, honest lyrics exploring all-too-current themes including poverty and racism...a quiet, yet powerful storm", naming her a "need to know" artist of 2016.[10] NPR highlighted her single, "St. Elizabeth," for its rustic wisdom, comparing her vocalization to a "run-down preacher dispensing folk wisdom on the street."[11] Kater recorded the album in a single day in Toronto.[12]

In 2017 and 2018, Kater toured extensively, performing at venues and festivals throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and the United Kingdom, including a performance at the Kennedy Center, at the invitation of the Grammy Museum as part of a tribute to Pete Seeger.[13] She performed at the 2018 Newport Folk Festival, with Rolling Stone highlighting her performance as one of the '12 Best Things We Saw' [14] and Carnegie Hall announced her performance as part of Migrations: The Making of America in their 2018-2019 season.[15]

Kater's 2018 album, Grenades, explores her personal history, including the story of her father's childhood and journey to Canada.[16] Kater traveled to her father's homeland of Grenada to seek inspiration for the album. This was the first trip she had taken there as an adult.[5]

While influenced by folk music, Kater cites Nina Simone, Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill as important voices in shaping the direction of her artistic, social and political expression.[17]

References

  1. Amara Thomas (December 14, 2017), "Kaia Kater's music is beautiful proof that banjos aren't just for hillbillies and the Confederacy", The Fader
  2. 1 2 3 "Different Strokes: Kaia Kater in Conversation with Nefesh Mountain". The Bluegrass Situation. 2016-07-20. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  3. "Ottawa acts vie for Canadian Folk Music Awards". Ottawa Citizen. 2016-09-22. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  4. 1 2 Deutsch, Joni. "Kaia Kater: A Portrait of a Young Quebecalachian". Archived from the original on 2018-10-11. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  5. 1 2 "Kaia Kater Explores Identity, Memory, and Roots on 'Grenades' out 10.26 Via Smithsonian Folkways Recordings". Docslib. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  6. "How the banjo helped Kaia Kater understand her Afro-Caribbean roots | CBC Radio". CBC. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  7. "Kaia Kater". kaiakater.com. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  8. 2016 Canadian Folk Music Awards recipients announced, Canadian Folk Music Awards, December 4, 2016
  9. Neil Spencer (August 28, 2016), "Kaia Kater: Nine Pin review – where bluegrass meets Nina Simone", The Guardian, Manchester UK
  10. Stephen L. Betts (May 4, 2016), "10 New Country Artists You Need to Know: May 2016", Rolling Stone
  11. Boilen, Bob (24 July 2018). "Newport Folk 2018 Preview: Cheech And Chong, Kaia Kater, Glorietta, And More". NPR Music: All Songs Considered. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  12. "Kaia Kater". pinecone.org. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  13. "Kaia Kater To Perform In Pete Seeger Tribute At Kennedy Center". Quicksilver Productions. Archived from the original on 2018-10-11. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  14. Doyle, Jonathan Bernstein,Patrick (2018-07-30). "Newport Folk Festival 2018: 12 Best Things We Saw". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2018-10-11.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. "Karine Polwart Kaia Kater - 3/23/2019 9 PM". www.carnegiehall.org. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  16. "Shifting gear, digging roots - SOCAN Words and Music". SOCAN Words and Music. 2018-09-26. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  17. "Kaia Kater Explores The Heavenly and The Sinister on "Saint Elizabeth"". Noisey. 2016-06-20. Retrieved 2018-10-11.

Further reading

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