Musician
Podcast guestKat Perkins
Singer-songwriter and fourth-place finalist on season six of The Voice, grinding on the Minneapolis scene for 26 years with originals, covers and tribute shows.
Kat Perkins is a singer-songwriter who has worked the Minneapolis music scene for 26 years. Kat first sang in front of a crowd at age five and grew up playing piano. In 2005 Kat's hard rock band Scarlet Haze won a battle of the bands and opened for Bon Jovi at a sold-out Target Center, and the band had a record deal by 2010. After a viral YouTube video, producers of The Voice asked Kat to audition. Kat got a three-chair turn, joined Team Adam Levine and finished fourth in season six in 2014. Kat's first two singles after the show reached the top five on iTunes. Today Kat writes and releases originals and makes a living singing covers and tribute shows, sounding like Stevie Nicks or Shania Twain. Kat runs music camps for kids ages 8 to 18 through the nonprofit Rising Star Foundation and co-hosts the podcast Aftermath: Life After Reality Television. Kat says Minneapolis feels like a family where everyone knows every guitar player, drummer and bass player.
On the Minnesota Music Note
The Minnesota Music Note - Ep 77 - Enter the New Grind with Kat Perkins
October 28, 2026
Open episode pageFun facts from the interview
- Season six finalist on The Voice in 2014, on Team Adam Levine, finishing fourth after a three-chair turn.
- Was invited to audition for The Voice after a viral YouTube video.
- Fronted the hard rock band Scarlet Haze, which won a 2005 battle of the bands to open for Bon Jovi at Target Center.
- Scarlet Haze had a record deal by 2010.
- Influences include Fleetwood Mac, Journey and Bon Jovi.
- First two singles after The Voice reached the top five on iTunes.
- Runs music camps for kids ages 8 to 18 through the Rising Star Foundation nonprofit, plus voice and audition lessons.
- Co-hosts the podcast Aftermath: Life After Reality Television with a former camp student.
- Plays covers and tribute shows and says 90 minutes to two hours is the right length for a live show.
- Has a hot take that shorter songs, even 90 seconds, could fit how audiences listen now.
- Always asks to be paid before taking the stage, but once played a Fargo show for 5,000 people even after the promoter never paid.
- Recommended guests: Nicholas David from The Voice and Paul Peterson of The Family.
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