Kaia Kater draws on her diverse influences in Quebec, the Caribbean, and Appalachia, bringing them together to present an exciting musical direction. Known for her prowess as a songwriter and tradition bearer who performs with what rolling stone calls “the skill of a folk-circuit veteran”
She grew up between two worlds: one her family’s deep ties to the Canadian folk music scene; the other the years she spent soaking up Appalachian music in West Virginia. Her father grew up in Grenada, fleeing to Canada in 1986 as part of a youth speaker program, after the U.S. invasion.
Starting her career early, Kaia released her first EP “Old Soul” (2013) when she was just out of high school. Since then, she’s gone on to release two more albums, “Sorrow Bound” (2015) and “Nine Pin” (2016). In the digital age. “Nine Pin” won a Canadian folk music award, a Stingray Rising Star award, and sent Kaia on an 18-month touring journey from Ireland to Iowa. This concert is from Albany, in 2016, let’s check out Kaia Kater live at The Linda.
Anais Mitchell was born in 1981 in Vermont, where her father, a novelist and college professor, named her after writer Anais Nin. Inspired by bold female songwriters including Ani Difranco, Tori Amos, and Dar Williams, she began writing songs and seeking out opportunities to perform in high school. Having traveled to the Middle East, Latin America, and Europe in childhood, she then studied languages and international politics at Vermont’s Middlebury College.
In tandem with an earnest, somewhat Dolly Parton-esque vocal delivery, Anais emerged with an alternately confessional and character-driven alt-folk in the early 2000s. Albums including her self-released debut “The Song They Sang...When Rome Fell,” Mitchell's landmark fourth LP, “Hadestown,” which saw release in 2010 when she played The Linda, is a staged version of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice set in America during an economic depression. It was reworked for Broadway, where it opened in 2019. “Hadestown” the musical went on to win eight Tony awards, including best musical. But like the hipsters we are, we knew her first. Ok, from the vault circa 2010 here is Anais Mitchell live at The Linda.
Thanks again for tuning in tonight for “Live At The Linda,” recorded live at The Linda: WAMC’s Performing Arts Studio. Join us next week for Lucky 5 from December 2017 and Professor Louie & The Crowmatix from earlier this month.
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