Performance Highlights:
  • After a 20-year pause from the stage, Katy made her re-debut with a ticketed event at Ginkgo in St Paul on January 8, 2022. During the height of the omicron variant of the Covid-19 pandemic, Katy filled the house with (masked and vaxxed) friends and fans.
  • June 9, 2022, Katy and her band played to a sold out audience at the 318 Cafe in Excelsior celebrating the release of her two new singles. 
Special Appearances:
Katy Tessman is an optimistic and approachable singer-songwriter with a voice full of the wisdom she’s gained through breast cancer survival, heartbreak, and motherhood. Her powerful vocals and rhythmic approach to guitar (or mandolin) express a straight-from-the-heart songwriting style that moves passionately over diverse emotional and musical terrain. 

Before becoming a mom, Katy performed her original contemporary folk music both as a headliner and opener at venues in the Twin Cities and throughout the region for nearly a decade. Katy’s band Joe’s Elevator won accolades from fans and critics alike, releasing their album Up & Down in 1997. Katy’s 11-song solo debut album, Fall, remarkably showcases her acoustic based arrangements expanded by a talented cast of players. Before becoming a mother in 2003, national tours allowed her to grace stages from Seattle to Sioux Saint Marie.
During her pause from the stage, Katy has raised two sons, fought a victorious battle with breast cancer, authored an award-winning children's book entitled Our Mama is a Beautiful Garden, and was named CHANGEMAKER by the Minnesota Women’s Press.

Music has always taken center stage in Katy’s household. When her boys were young, Katy taught Music Together (an early childhood music program) and performed at special assemblies and classroom concerts at her sons’ elementary school. Most recently, Katy has joined Joshua Schmidt on stage at their church for the youth education program. Katy’s sons are talented music makers as well; from piano and percussion, to electric guitar and electronic music production, there’s always some kind of music pouring out of the Tessman home.
Katy’s live shows are flexible to what the event / venue requires; Katy can perform solo, as a duo, trio, or with a full band. Various instrumentation is used, from an acoustic folk sound with mandolin and upright bass to a pop-rock/country band with electric guitar and full drumset.
"Piece by Piece (the best news of all)" is a love song for Tessman's two sons. It's about how Katy pieced her life (and body) back together after her courageous and victorious battle with breast cancer 12 years ago. It’s about living to watch her sons grow up; they were just 3 and 6 years old at the time of her diagnosis. The lyric video showcases illustrations by Jessica Bailey from Katy's award-winning children's book entitled "Our Mama is a Beautiful Garden." 
Sarah Morris invited Katy Tessman to be a part of her YouTube show "Hey! I miss you!" along with five other songwriting challengers who participated in the Facebook group "Singer/Songwriter Songwriting Challenge." Marc Severin. Mary Strand, Pat Egan, Nigel Egg, Christopher David Hanson, along with Katy are only a handful of folks who participated in the 20-week, 10 prompt session — a community that is full of thoughtful and loving folks giving constant encouragement and good vibes to each other.