About Katy Tessman, the Singer-Songwriter

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. Books and music have always taken center stage in Katy’s life. As a writer, Katy aims to spread hope and joy with her books and songs. 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 in 2003 (and again in 2006), 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. From 1993-1998, Katy’s band Joe’s Elevator won accolades from fans and critics alike; in 1997 they released their album Up & Down. Katy’s 11-song solo debut album, Fall, remarkably showcases her acoustic based arrangements expanded by a talented cast of players. National tours in 2001 and 2002 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. From 2017-2020, Katy 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.
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Mom & Son duo: Louis Stanoch's sensitive style adds flavors of Jimi Hendrix and David Gilmour to his mom's original folk-rock-americana songs.
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. 
  • October 2022 marks Katy’s 13th year of being breast cancer free and to celebrate, Katy and her band played to a full house at the 318 Cafe in Excelsior for a fundraiser for Angle Foundation.
Special Appearances:
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Katy Tessman Band: Louis Stanoch on electric guitar, longtime band-mate Tom Leier on bass, and reunited high school friend Kelley Lima on drums.
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-americana band with electric guitar and full drumset.
”Piece by Piece (the best news of all)” is a lullaby 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 a decade 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.