Jump to content

Kaia Kater

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Rosguill (talk | contribs) at 01:48, 1 May 2020 (fix link to World Cafe (radio program)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Kaia Kater
Kaia Kater July 2018
Kaia Kater July 2018
Background information
Born1993
Montreal
OriginGrenadian-Canadian
Genres
Instrument(s)voice, banjo, piano, guitar
LabelsSmithsonian Folkways Recordings (Outside Canada)
Websitekaiakater.com

Kaia Kater (b. Montreal, age 30)[1][2] is a Canadian singer-songwriter, guitar, piano and banjo player.

Background

Kater was born in Montreal, where she spent her early childhood in Mile End.[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] Her mother is from Quebec, and her father immigrated to Canada from Grenada as a teenager.

She grew up spending significant time in the North American folk music community, attending festivals, camps and conferences frequently during her teen years.[5]

Musical career

She released her first EP Old Soul in 2012, and her first full-length album Sorrow Bound in 2014.[6]

In 2016, she won the "Pushing the Boundaries" award at the 12th Canadian Folk Music Awards for her third album, Nine Pin.[7] The Guardian reviewed it as "tremendous" with four stars out of five.[8] 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.[1]

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.[9] She performed at the 2018 Newport Folk Festival, with Rolling Stone highlighting her performance as one of the '12 Best Things We Saw' [10] and Carnegie Hall announced her performance as part of Migrations: The Making of America in their 2018-2019 season.[11]

Kater's 2018 album, Grenades, explores her personal history, including the story of her father's childhood and journey to Canada.[12]

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.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b Stephen L. Betts (May 4, 2016), "10 New Country Artists You Need to Know: May 2016", Rolling Stone
  2. ^ a b Amara Thomas (December 14, 2017), "Kaia Kater's music is beautiful proof that banjos aren't just for hillbillies and the Confederacy", The Fader
  3. ^ "Ottawa acts vie for Canadian Folk Music Awards". Ottawa Citizen. 2016-09-22. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  4. ^ a b Deutsch, Joni. "Kaia Kater: A Portrait of a Young Quebecalachian". Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  5. ^ "How the banjo helped Kaia Kater understand her Afro-Caribbean roots | CBC Radio". CBC. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  6. ^ "Kaia Kater". kaiakater.com. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  7. ^ 2016 Canadian Folk Music Awards recipients announced, Canadian Folk Music Awards, December 4, 2016
  8. ^ Neil Spencer (August 28, 2016), "Kaia Kater: Nine Pin review – where bluegrass meets Nina Simone", The Guardian, Manchester UK
  9. ^ "Kaia Kater To Perform In Pete Seeger Tribute At Kennedy Center". Quicksilver Productions. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  10. ^ Doyle, Jonathan Bernstein,Patrick (2018-07-30). "Newport Folk Festival 2018: 12 Best Things We Saw". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2018-10-11.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ "Karine Polwart Kaia Kater - 3/23/2019 9 PM". www.carnegiehall.org. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  12. ^ "Shifting gear, digging roots - SOCAN Words and Music". SOCAN Words and Music. 2018-09-26. Retrieved 2018-10-11.
  13. ^ "Kaia Kater Explores The Heavenly and The Sinister on "Saint Elizabeth"". Noisey. 2016-06-20. Retrieved 2018-10-11.

Further reading

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kaia_Kater&oldid=954171230"