carisa is an independent musician whose sound is best categorized as bedroom cafe. It hints at some of her influences, primarily bossa nova, folk, and jazz. Her lyrics are often straight from the pages of her journal and are always autobiographical in some way. She primarily performs music with her guitar but has also been seen caressing a keyboard. To date, she has performed at bars and coffee shops, weddings and wedding receptions, for corporate events and for children’s events, music festivals and secret science camps.
carisa is a self-taught musician, who learned to play the guitar in honor of her father (#deaddadclub), and soon began learning her favorite songs. From Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass to Bjork and Jeff Buckley, there was no shortage of musical mentors for her to learn from.
She had been quietly exploring songwriting as a means of emotional catharsis, but it wasn’t until she started playing for other people that she considered sharing her music on a larger scale. She began playing on RPAN (Reddit’s live streamed music sessions) and then, after relocating to Wisconsin, began performing live whenever and wherever she had the time and opportunity to. As an independent musician, carisa is enjoying building a community of likeminded appreciators of the human experience.
Some of the spaces and events carisa has had the delight of performing in are the Stoughton Opera House, Cafe Carpe, the Marquette Waterfront Festival, Cafe Coda, Saint Kate’s – the Art Hotel, the Brady Street Festival, Olbrich Botanical Gardens, the Duluth Masonic Temple for Minnesota Public Radio and the Current, and other places throughout Wisconsin and the United States. Check out some footage from the Current here! (It’s a really nice venue.)
carisa released her first EP, microcosm, in November 2020. Her second release, The Soul is Deep Water, was released in February 2023. She then released an EP of Jeff Buckley covers, entitled beam me up scotty in June 2024. Her latest release, repotting, was released on May 31, 2025. All songs, aside from the covers, were written by carisa and recorded, mixed, and mastered in her home studio.
check out carisa’s releases here!