Kaia Kater is a Grenadian Canadian born-in-Montreal singer-songwriter who plays clawhammer style banjo in the American Appalachian tradition. That places her music squarely into the category “it’s complicated.” She grew up influenced by her instrument-builder grandfather, her mother’s folk festival obsession and by the hip-hop mix tapes lent to her by her dad. A banjo that fell into her hands at a bluegrass festival workshop eventually led to a scholarship to study old time music in college in West Virginia. As a skilled songwriter she began recording songs about close-to-home themes such as poverty and racism, and more personal topics such as love in the digital age. Her musical journey eventually took her to Grenada to investigate her background as a self-described “hyphenated Canadian.” It resulted in her critically heralded third album Grenades where she explores the culture and tumultuous politics of the country her father escaped as a refugee. Musically, she taps into her wide range of influences in an album that cross-pollinates bluegrass, soul, jazz, hip hop and of course old-time folk. Grenades was long listed for a Polaris prize in 2019 and nominated for a Juno. Critics have called Kater’s music ancient and authentic and brand new; she’s a true original.