Bio

A Queer dreamer born in the Colorado prairie to working class parents, I learned the world with an impossibly tender heart, a kinship with nature’s splendor, and a keen grasp of class politics. 

Many know me as the front person in the short-lived but well-loved Chumped or the feminine exploration power pop project katie ellen. In February of 2021, I released my first solo record – Wild River  – a mix of song and spoken word poetry paying homage to my late father who died suddenly in 2019. The record explores failure, shame resilience, intergenerational trauma, and how to find hope after grief.  

I have performed on three continents and in 43 of the 50 United States, recorded and written songs for film and television, and by merging art and activism, have helped raise over $15,000 for transgender youth, undocumented families, sexual assault survivors, pro-Black progressive policy, and more.

​I believe, as Georges Braque once said, that “art is a wound turned into light.” It is a healer and a herald; in it we find our unsung truths and a communion with the world. In making and sharing my truth, I strive to help others to feel less alone in theirs.