Kaia Kater

Buzzworthy Black string band New Dangerfield releases their second single, "Put No Walls Around Your Garden," co-written by band member Kaia Kater and songwriter Billy Keane. This follows their debut single, "Dangerfield Newby," a rollicking, reimagined fiddle instrumental that showcased the band’s energetic musical prowess.

Kaia Kater’s new album, Strange Medicine (out today,  May 17, 2024 on Free Dirt Records), opens with a haunting vision. Accompanied by Aoife O’Donovan, Kater sings of the women burned at the stake as witches in 17th century Salem, Massachusetts and their wish to strike back: “I dreamt I moved through you and / Burned my name into your chest”.

The new single from Kaia Kater's upcoming full-length album Strange Medicine is out now! "The Witch" is a piercing look at how men have labeled women over the centuries. Here's Kaia's own words about it: "I specifically wanted to write about the way men historically have branded women as temptresses, harlots, sirens and shrews, and then sought to reflect this visually – the letter A for adulteress, the burning of flesh to symbolize evil.  The first woman labeled a witch in Salem was a Black woman by the name of Tituba.

Black music lies at the heart of most American roots music, but a century of erasure has obscured the origins of the music today. Now four brilliant musicians, each visionaries in their own right, are re-centering Black traditions in string band music. New Dangerfield brings together Afrofuturist fiddler Jake Blount with composer, songwriter, and old-time banjo player Kaia Kater, bluegrass banjo iconoclast Tray Wellington, and powerfully versatile bassist Nelson Williams.

Acclaimed singer-songwriter and musician, Kaia Kater, unveils "In Montreal," the latest single from her highly anticipated album, Strange Medicine, set to release on May 17, 2024, via Free Dirt Records. Following the success of her previous singles, "Fédon" featuring Taj Mahal and "The Internet," Kater continues to enchant listeners with her profound storytelling and musical prowess.

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2024—Acclaimed singer, songwriter, and musician Kaïa Kater will release her anticipated new album, Strange Medicine, on May 17 via Free Dirt Records (pre-order/pre-save here). Ahead of the release, the new song “Fédon,” featuring Taj Mahal, is debuting today. Watch a new performance video for the song HERE.

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The new album from young African-Canadian roots phenom Kaia Kater couldn’t come at a better time. As a new generation takes the reins, American roots music is needed more than ever to remind us of the troubled pathways of our own history. Born of African-Caribbean descent in Québec, Kaia Kater grew up between two worlds: one her family’s deep ties to Canadian folk music in her Toronto home; the other the years she spent learning and studying Appalachian music in West Virginia.

The Appalachian Mountains, perhaps the most iconic strongholds of traditional music in North American history, form a direct line running from eastern Canada down through Alabama. They are the backbone of a body of ballads and tunes that define Americana and have heavily influenced Canadian roots music as well.

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