ARTS COUNCIL OF BIG SKY
The Arts Council of Big Sky is pleased to present Canadian folk artist Kaia Kater—the first of two ACBS concerts at the Warren Miller Performing Arts Center this winter—at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 4.
A counterpart to its Music in the Mountains summer concert series, the winter series will focus on high-quality, critically acclaimed acoustic artists in an intimate, theater-style setting.
Born of African-Caribbean descent in Québec, Kater grew up between two worlds: one informed by her family’s deep ties to Canadian folk music in her Toronto home; the other by the years she spent studying Appalachian music in West Virginia.
Her acclaimed 2015 debut album “Sorrow Bound” touched on this divide, but her new album, “Nine Pin,” released in May 2016, delves even further, casting an unflinching eye at the realities faced by people of color in North America every day. The songs on “Nine Pin” are fueled by Kater’s rich, low tenor vocals, jazz-influenced instrumentation, and beautifully understated banjo—and have as much in common with Kendrick Lamar right now as they do with Pete Seeger.
Heavy Rotation, a National Public Radio program, included Kater’s song “Paradise Fell” on their “best music of 2016” list, and Rolling Stone named Kater as one of 10 country artists to watch in 2016. In December, “Nine Pin” won the “pushing the boundary” category at the Canadian Folk Music Awards.
The second Arts Council concert is the annual International Guitar Night on Sunday, Feb. 26. This year, gypsy jazz legend Lulo Reinhardt will be stepping in as guest host for International Guitar Night’s 17th year of touring.
Reinhardt will be joined by three new, dynamic musicians: Italy’s innovative contemporary guitarist Luca Stricagnoli; brilliant young Brazilian composer-performer Chrystian Dozza, and India’s ground-breaking slide guitarist Debashish Bhattacharya.
In a tried-and-true format, the four guitarists will each perform a concise solo, then return to the stage in various configurations during the second set, culminating in a four-guitar finale.
“We’re excited to be bringing more offerings to Big Sky this winter,” said Brian Hurlbut, ACBS executive director. “We feel our concerts compliment what is already being offered at the theater, and give music lovers more options to discover new artists.”
Tickets for both performances are now on sale at warrenmillerpac.org. For more information call (406) 995-2742 or visit bigskyarts.org.
