BY ELISABETH ANDREWS
For 10 years, the all-women a cappella group Kaia has performed what founder Cairril Adaire describes as “a dizzying range of material, from the raucous to the sublime.” Singing in 26 different languages including English; Yiddish; Zulu; and the disappearing French language, Occitan, Kaia’s music addresses themes of religion, sex, politics, and seasonal celebrations through complex vocal arrangements and energetic live performances.
Their 10th anniversary concert, 7:30 p.m., April 11, at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 2120 N. Fee Ln., will celebrate this world music group’s local success while looking ahead to a new CD and plans to embark on their first-ever tour, says Adaire.
The eight-woman group, which includes teachers, artists, and business owners, has recorded three CDs and performed twice at Bloomington’s Lotus World Music & Arts Festival. Their online digital recordings and videos have reached people all over the world.
Full-time jobs and young children have limited the group’s ability to branch out with their live shows, Adaire says, but now that the kids are getting older, Kaia is ready for its next move.
“Our live performances are really entertaining and interactive, so that people get swept up into this journey of joy,” she says. “We’d like to spread that experience farther. We’re looking at a 50-to-100-mile radius to start.”
In addition to tour planning, the group is recording a new studio album that will include songs in Arabic, Russian, and Maori. The anniversary concert will feature many of these arrangements for a total of 32 songs in 15 languages.
“This concert is a way of saying thank you to Bloomington,” says Adaire. “The goal we have with any performance, but particularly with this 10th anniversary show, is to give people an opportunity to glimpse the world they want to live in. We’re for peace, we’re for justice, we’re for sisterhood and brotherhood, and we’re inviting the audience in. The music lifts us all up, so we can not just feel better but do better.”
Tickets are available at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater Box Office. Local emporium Relish is the concert’s ticket sponsor, and Bloom Magazine is a media sponsor. Seats are $12 or $10 for students and seniors.
