Tessa Karrys

is an Arizona-based singer-songwriter, performer, youth music & arts educator, and Certified Autism Specialist.

Tessa is known for her soulful voice and heartfelt, personal original songs. Her early influences of blues and country western can be heard in her folk-pop writing and playing style. Tessa has performed extensively at music venues, festivals, weddings, restaurants/bars, private parties, events, and fundraisers; as well as released an EP titled “Begin” in 2016. Tessa continues to perform, both solo and with her band, and is in the early stages of recording a full-length album to be released in the near future. Stay tuned for an upcoming full album release!

In a teaching capacity, Tessa has worked with kids and teens in a professional setting on and off for the past 10 years. She is experienced in and passionate about showing kids how much fun art and music can be and how special their own creativity is. Since graduating with a BIS (Family & Human Development and Religious Studies) from ASU in 2013, she has worked in an after-school program for underserved youth, worked with young adults in Cambodia as part of an NGO, helped teens and young adults in the foster care system and/or receiving behavioral health services transition to adulthood as a social worker, taught music lessons independently and in a music studio, and created/taught youth "healthy expression through music" workshops in schools as well as organizations providing behavioral health services to teens. Since starting a family of her own (now a mother of two), she has combined her areas of passion into flexible, kid-friendly self-employment, creating and teaching pre-k and elementary classes and camps focusing on stories, music, and art. Recently, she also completed the necessary training and education to become a Certified Autism Specialist in order to better serve and teach neurodiverse kids who can especially benefit from an environment where they can discover and foster their own unique creativity. Tessa wants to help children learn to use music and art as a way to learn, express themselves, and find joy. She believes this is an important foundation that we can all build upon and benefit from throughout our entire lives.