Specializing in jazz, soul, and r&b, Katia is a gifted vocalist with a passion for bringing energy and soul to her performance. She brings emotional authenticity to every song, and strives to bring people together through the universal experience of music. Her influences include Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, Carole King and Eva Cassidy, to name a few. She is currently performing across the Twin Cities, under her own name, with some of this town's top jazz and r&b instrumentalists. 

Growing up

Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Katia grew up in a musical family. Her mother, Janis Kelly, is an accomplished vocalist, who sang with Maurice White and the Emotions, and opened for Rufus & Chaka Khan, Tower of Power and Carole King. Her father, Mark Cardenas, is a professional keyboardist, and a Platinum and Gold recording artist, whose credits include Prince, Morris Day and the Time, Janet Jackson, and The Song Catchers (featuring Charles Neville). From an early age, she was raised on a strict diet of funk, soul, and R&B. She received a Waldorf education, which taught her a deep appreciation for the arts, and a passion for singing. In junior high, her family relocated to Sacramento, California, where she sang in jazz and show choirs, and developed a passion for musical theater.

Music Education through Life

At 16, she attended the Visual and Performing Arts Charter School, where she became deeply involved in music, theatre, and dance, landing lead roles in the musicals, Bye Bye Birdie and Little Shop of Horrors. At 17, she sang back-up vocals in her mother's band, The Groove Ambassadors, gigging regularly in clubs throughout Sacramento.

Desiring a change of scenery, Katia moved to the St. Paul, MN in 2006 to attend Macalester College. She joined The Sirens, an all-female a cappella group on campus, in which she was a featured soloist, arranger and vocal percussionist. Throughout college, was deeply involved in the theater department, and she performed regularly at on-campus events, and sang with student combos, including It's a Trap, a rock and blues quartet featuring guitarist Max Kulicke (of the Twin Cities' acclaimed Carroll). She later won first place in the "Macalester Idol," college-wide singing competition in her senior year. She also joined Late Night Menu, a co-ed a cappella group led by award-winning vocal percussionist, Andrew Berkowitz (Six Appeal).

Katia graduated with a major in Psychology, and a minor in Theatre, and for a few years, pursued a career as an actor and theatre arts educator.  She co-composed and directed "Zombie High School," an a cappella musical with Late Night Menu for the 2010 MN Fringe Festival, which was named "Best Musical" by FringeFamous.com. Katia was also the group's featured soloist in their audition for NBC's "The Sing-off."  After the group disbanded in 2011, she performed occasionally, while also singing for occasional events "back home" in Sacramento, CA, and later with Lara Lavi & Red Dog Zen in Seattle, WA, and Global Soul Experience in Boulder, CO. By spring 2013, Katia realized how little music was in her life, and decided to make a change--and pursue her dream of singing professionally.

Shifting Focus

She recorded her demo at Microbus Studios with her father in Seattle, WA. She began doing studio work with Organica Productions and Essential Sessions Studios. She joined the Twin Cities Cabaret Artists Network (TCCAN; Marketing Committee Lead; performing member), a cabaret performance group dedicated to honoring the age-old art of storytelling through song. Katia began hosting the Vocalist Night at Jazz Central Studios in 2014, which was created to spotlight established singers, as well as up-and-coming vocalists from the Twin Cities. There she met and learned from local jazz greats, and soon began gigging around Minneapolis/St. Paul.

Performing Life

In Fall 2014, After just a year of performing professionally, Katia got to play at the world-renowned Dakota Jazz Club, where she appeared regularly throughout 2015. She was also invited to perform for The Dakota’s the Grand Opening of their St. Paul venue, Vieux Carré (formerly The Artist Quarter), and continued playing at jazz clubs and events across the Upper Midwest region. Katia released “A Seed,” a single with local hip-hop artist, SEE MORE PERSPECTIVE, and developed tribute shows to honoring her idols Ella Fitzgerald and Carole King

In 2016, Katia released her debut EP, "I'll Be Seeing You," a self-produced seven-track project recorded at Ant Recording Studios, mixed by Wondertone Productions. The CD is available for download on iTunes and Amazon Music, or you can stream it on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music and more! Her CD Release Show at The Icehouse featured Jazzoneando, a touring Latin jazz combo from San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, in a warm up to their MainStage performance at The 2016 Twin Cities Jazz Festival.

Watch this video, and listen to this interview on Jazz88 with Kevin Barnes about the making of the album, and the release show and related events.

That summer, she co-curated and performed in the inaugural "Singer's Scat-Off" at the Twin Cities Jazz Festival, which featured 5 other local vocalists, including Jason Peterson DeLaire. She also joined Casablanca Orchestra, a nationally renowned touring show band, and formed Jazz Alley, a vocalist-led jazz group with Maryann Sullivan and Sarah Greer. 

In 2017, Katia took the Main Stage of the 2017 Twin Cities Jazz Fest with a full 8-piece band, including back-up singers: Sheridan Zuther and Andrina Brogden. She also began filming a music video for her single of the Harry Warren jazz standard “There Will Never Be Another You” in her hometown of Everett, WA.

In 2018, Katia joined the Funk and R&B band Sonically Speaking, and appeared as a guest artist with David LeDuc (Enemy Planes) in cover band, The MTVS, and original Indie-rock band, Phantom Heart. After completing her video shoot at Jazz Central Studios, she released the official music video for “There Will Never Be Another You,” which was featured on The Currents 89.3FM’s “Friday Five.”

Touring in México

That fall, Katia embarked on her first ever international tour to San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato in the Bajio region of Central México. Her “Tour del Bajio” was a partnership with Jazzoneando, with performances across the state of Guanajuato and Querétaro, including a show with a 10-piece band at the historic Teatro Ángela Peralta in downtown San Miguel de Allende. Katia’s father, keyboardist Mark Cardenas, also joined as a special guest artist.

Healing and Reflection

Throughout 2019-2020, Katia took a partial hiatus from performing to focus on her vocal health, after receiving a rare diagnosis of Muscle Tension Dysphonia. While performing occasionally at jam sessions and special events across the Twin Cities, she worked with the area’s leading speech language pathologists, and visited David Jones in New York City for support as well. In the early months of the COVID-19 Pandemic, she shifted her focus to writing original music, doing a 30-day writing challenge with a Poet friend for April, known as “National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo). She wrote 30 songs in 30 days, many of which have since been incorporated into her sets.

Katia formally returned to performing live in 2021 after a 3 years hiatus, performing on Twin Cities Jazz Festival’s “Jazz Fest Live” live-streamed concert series, filmed at Dakota Jazz Club.

Watch the Jazz Fest Live Performance on Crowdcast.

She later present a “Comeback” show at The Uptown’s Granada Theater, which was covered by the Pioneer Press. Read about her journey getting back onstage. The show also got radio coverage through Minnesota Public Radio’s weekly Art Hounds program, and an interview with Phil Nusbaum’s on Jazz88.5. She also performed at the Twin Cities Jazz Festival that September.

Burning Truth Project

In June 2020, George Floyd was horrifically murdered by police in Minneapolis, sparking a world-wide uprising against systemic racism and police brutality. Katia worked with Pangea World Theater on curating a personal, creative response to these events. She decided to devise a cabaret-inspired storytelling piece called “The Burning Truth Project,” with local singers Andrina Brogden and Sarah M. Greer, and music director Kavyesh Kaviraj. They performed this piece live outdoors in August and September. A full video of the first performance was later live-streamed, followed by a talkback with the artists, moderated by Pangea’s Co-Artistic Director, Meena Natarajan.

WATCH the 2020 Performance.

In 2021, this project was awarded a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council to be adapted and performed again this time with a full band. Performances a live-streamed performance at Walker West Music Academy. and two outdoor shows at the East Side Freedom Library.

Watch the 2022 Performance.

New Projects

Katia’s recent performance career has included regular performances at local jazz venues, restaurants and speakeasies, and special events at kj’s hideaway, Crooners, MetroNome Brewery, Walker West Music Academy and the Twin Cities Jazz Festival. In 2023, she premiered a set of all original music, including a live-streamed performance at Walker West Music Academy’s Rondo Community Music Series.

Watch Katia’s 2023 Performance featuring all original music.

She started performing with Minnesota Wedding band, Blue Water Kings. She also formed Katia & The Upswing, a swing band dedicated to playing live music for swing dance events, with a long-standing residency at Eagles #34, called “First Friday Swings,” often presented in partnership with dance teacher, DJ and event producer Ms. Shannon Butler.

She collaborated with Peruvian Saxophone player, Claudia Medina throughout 2021 and 2022, and later performed with “Claudia Medina’s Peruvian Project” on the Mainstage at the 2023 Twin Cities Jazz Festival.

She also premiered two new tribute shows, both of which she performed at Crooners Lounge and Supperclub, and other venues.

• “Brave Enough: A Tribute to Sara Bareilles,” (2022) featuring singles and deep cuts from her studio- and live-albums. Watch videos from the show.

• “Celebrating the Ladies of Lilith Fair” (2024), featuring songs and stories from the artists featured at Lilith Fair, a first-of-it’s-kind festival that toured North America 1997-1999 led by Sarah McLaughlan, featuring an all-female line up.

Travel & Community Building

In 2025, Katia embarked on a 6-week solo trip to Western Europe. While there, she experienced jazz jams across 4 different countries, and sat-in at Ronnie Scott’s in London, Jazz Alto in Amsterdam, Sunset Sunside & Le Baiser Sale in Paris, and Gregory’s Jazz Club in Rome. Throughout 2026, she continued her jazz-centric travels state-side, appearing onstage at venues across San Francisco, New Orleans, New York City and Chicago. She also made her New York debut, performing a cabaret set at Don’t Tell Mama.

These experiences inspired her to host vocal jazz jam sessions at home in Minnesota, where she began producing events in people’s homes, with the intention of creating supportive spaces for singers to work on bandleading skills, and collaborate and connect with instrumentalists.

She’s established her voice studio, offering private voice coaching, leading in-school residencies and bandleading workshops for young singers. At the 2026 Twin Cities Jazz Festival, she piloted a Youth Vocal Jazz Showcase, featuring young vocalists and instrumentalists, who worked over 2 months to learn how to play, jam and perform together. This culminated in a performance at the Jazz Fest, and a Masterclass for students with headliner, acclaimed jazz singer Michael Mayo.

Community Connections & Arts Administration

Katia is passionate about creating community and equity in the arts and has engaged with numerous local music organizations and networks across her career, including FaceForward: Humanity Through Art, Jazz Central Studios, Twin Cities Cabaret Artists Network (TCCAN), and Minnesota Music Coalition. As an actor and arts administrator, she has worked with Minnesota-based theater companies like Teatro Del Pueblo, Pangea World Theater, TigerLion Arts and Six-Point Theater.

Starting in 2015, she began working as an administrator for jazz education, and became Executive Director of Minnesota Jazz Education (MJE; formerly Dakota Foundation for Jazz Education), where she led their flagship program, Experience Jazz, an innovative ensemble and production program, in partnership with St. Paul’s High School for Recording Arts.

In 2023, she led a strategic merger of MJE’s programs with Walker West Music Academy, where she was Program Director of Walker West Without Walls, an initiative focused on providing accessible music education programming to underserved and underrepresented communities in the historically Black Rondo Neighborhood of St. Paul. While there, she also developed the Women in Jazz (WIJ) Initiative, which served over 200 women of all ages across the Twin Cities, through workshops, WIJ Ensembles featuring emerging young women and non-binary players, a WIJ Retreat and a partnership with She Rock She Rock.

She also became the Director of Youth Programs for the Twin Cities Jazz Festival in 2023, organizing education activities, and booking young musicians on the Youth Stage.

The people she’s met through the Twin Cities arts and music community are a huge part of where she is today; they are a constant inspiration, and reminder to pursue her dreams, and to think bigger than the stage.

Let’s get to work!

Katia Cardenas is currently available for booking clubs, weddings, private events, festivals and special appearances.  Katia periodically posts new videos and tracks on Youtube or Soundcloud, and sends out newsletters about upcoming events, and posts regularly on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Subscribe to Katia's e-newsletter (below), and follow her on social media!