Caton, age 35, certainly has plenty of juice in the sense of creative vitality—and its wellspring is her intelligence, broad musical roots and overseas upbringing. The daughter of a Kodak executive, she lived in England and Scotland until she was 13. She started playing the piano when she was four and the violin when she was five, and sang in Church of England choirs. She later moved to Rochester and earned a master’s degree in African Archeology from SUNY Binghamton. She then dropped her idea of getting a Ph.D. to pursue her passion for traditional music which gained momentum when she moved to Virginia about 10 years ago and started absorbing the banjo and fiddle-driven American Old-time music that tinges her recent work.
Sinners and the Saved, Caton’s second record, was recorded at the vaunted Levon Helm studio in Woodstock, New York. Larry Campbell—longtime sideman to Bob Dylan and Helm—has lauded the CD as “rare and irresistible.” The music is earthy and eclectic and “very influenced by the [Charlottesville] area,” the singer says, adding: “It is a pretty Virginia-based record.” It includes Caton originals, covers of Virginia Old-time and gospel songs, and even a cover of Led Zeppelin’s country-tinged “Hot Dog.”
Befitting her background, Caton embraces a wide spectrum of styles, and performs regionally in a variety of musical configurations. One night she will sing with the gypsy trio Las Gitanas, on another night with Irishman Pat Egan, and more recently she’s been touring with Winne, an Old-time stylist.
At home and through the Blue Ridge Irish Music School (BRIMS), she teaches Irish and Old-time fiddle, gypsy fiddle, banjo and guitar. She also has several piano students. She traveled to Ireland with BRIMS this summer for a few weeks of workshops, performances, and a soak in pub culture. Her mother’s family came from Ireland two generations back. “I used to play hundreds [of Irish songs],” says Caton. “I still teach it and play, but don’t really perform it. So I got out all my old tunes.” She holds up a small notebook with the titles and chords for dozens of Irish songs, cribbed in her neat, all-caps print.
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