Kaia Kater

Montreal-born Grenadian-Canadian Kaia’s jazz-fueled voice and deft songcraft have garnered acclaim from NPR’s Tiny Desk, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, and No Depression. Through her artful banjo playing and lush songwriting, Kaia draws on influences rooted in Quebec, the Caribbean, and Appalachia, all of which reflect the diversity of her background, her ties to the Canadian folk music scene, her college years spent soaking up Appalachian music in West Virginia, her father’s experience growing up in Grenada, and her recent work in film composition.

Kaia Kater’s new album, Strange Medicine (coming May 2024 on Free Dirt Records/ acrönym in Canada) was created during a period of deep self-reflection and reinvention. Taking the helm as co-producer, alongside Joe Grass (Elisapie, Barr Brothers), the album finds Kater expanding her creative scope with cinematic arrangements, and working with guest artists such as Taj Mahal, Allison Russell and Aoife O’Donovan. The album celebrates the power of women and oppressed people throughout history, while also sharing meditations on her own life.