MORRISBURG — With influences of Appalachia, the Caribbean, and Québec, JUNO-award winning artist Kaia Kater will take to the St. Lawrence Acoustic Stage in Morrisburg April 11.
“I would say it’s probably closer to Canadiana,” Kater described her music in an interview with The Leader.
Kater’s debut EP was released in 2013 while she was in high school. Since then, she has recorded four more albums, most recently Strange Medicine in 2024, for which she won the JUNO for Contemporary Roots Album the following year.
Influenced by her diverse family, Kater primarily plays the banjo in the clawhammer style, which has a traditional bluegrass feel. But her style has developed over the years.
“My first recording was very traditional stuff. There’s a lot of drama in Appalachian music. There’s murder; there’s intrigue; there’s romance. So a lot of my early music focused around that. As I got into more songwriting and trust my songwriting voice a bit more, I want to keep that language of telling a story. That’s the folk way,” she explained. “You always want to tell the story and bring people in.”
She said her music has developed from the traditional, venturing more into independent styles or indie. Accompanying her on stage in Morrisburg will be a bassist, a saxophonist, and some clarinet for effect.
“It’s all anchored by the storytelling side,” Kater said.
Songs in her catalogue range from stories about her father’s immigration journey from the Caribbean to Canada, or an old ghost story.
“It’s really for me about connecting with audiences and trying to get them involved too,” she said of her upcoming performance. “The highlight for me is just being in a room with other people. It’s a healing experience and it’s something I think we are missing more and more of. We’re being more isolated from each other and I would love people to feel connected.”
Performing for Kater is her way to keep her faith in humanity, and in herself.
“It’s a way to connect with myself. And I think in my best moments, it’s kind of a way to extend that connecting with other people,” she said. “Connecting through music is so fascinating because it’s this magical thing. It’s so temporary, especially live music. It’s like experience it once and then it’s a memory that you can go back to.”
Kater is currently touring in Ontario, then in the southeastern United States before going to Great Britain for the balance of the spring and early summer. She returns to Montréal in July to begin recording her next album. Some of the songs she will perform in Morrisburg are from that upcoming album.
Opening for Kater is Toronto-based folk singer-songwriter Mimi Dominique. She is presently touring Ontario in support of her upcoming debut album and single release this summer. She is a graduate of Seneca College’s songwriting and performance program (2024) and a participant in Folk Canada’s Developing Artist Program (2025).
“I feel like for me, folk music and songwriting is so much about story telling and what connects us to music is that shared story of our human experience,” she told The Leader.
Inspired by trailblazing female singer-songwriters such as Connie Converse, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, and more contemporary artists like Fiona Apple, Dominique loves performing in smaller venues where she can connect with the audience — drawing them into her performances. Her songwriting draws on personal experiences in the world.
“I would love to have them be able to leave any worries or things they are ruminating over in their heads behind, and be able to surrender to the moment we will have together.”
The April 11 show is hosted in the Upper Canada Playhouse in Morrisburg and begins at 7 p.m. on April 11. Tickets are $30 in advance, $35 at the door.
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