Watch Kaia Kater at the Paste Sessions From MerleFest

Paste Studio “On The Road” rambles on, this time to Wilkesboro, N.C., for the 36th annual MerleFest! The festival was founded in 1988 in memory of Doc Watson’s son Merle, and features “traditional plus” music, described by Doc Watson himself as, “the traditional music of the Appalachian region plus whatever other styles we were in the mood to play.” We have been crossing paths with Kaia Kater quite a bit lately and are always thrilled to present her music to you, dear listener.

Full Session

Kater mixes traditional with contemporary beautifully, starting the session with a cover of Ola Belle Reed’s song “Undone in Sorrow.” If you’re in the crate-digging mood, check out Reed’s live mid-’70s recording of the song heard on Rising Sun Melodies, which was released in 2010 on Smithsonian Folkways. For bonus points, check out the same song recorded under a different name, “Over Yonder in the Graveyard,” from the 1977 Rounder Records album Ola Belle Reed & Family.

“Undone in Sorrow” (Ola Belle Reed)

She follows the lovely cover with the title track of her 2016 album Nine Pin, and closes out this gem of a session with “History in Motion” from her May 17 album Strange Medicine.

“Nine Pin”

“History In Motion”

Big thanks to Kaia, MerleFest, and our friends at Window World for bringing these sessions to life, and please stay tuned for more Paste x MerleFest sessions to come!