By Kippy Marks—
The heart of the Bay Area has a sound, and, if you listen closely, you’ll hear Katrina Blackstone right at its center—a vocalist whose voice doesn’t just fill a room; it warms it. As the nineteenth individual to be profiled in this column, Katrina embodies love as a daily discipline, artistry as service, and community as a living, breathing rhythm.
Katrina sings the way some people pray—with intention, with generosity, and with a tenderness that invites you to exhale. Whether she’s onstage weaving jazz, soul, and electronic textures into something unmistakably her own, or offstage mentoring young artists and uplifting creatives, she practices love the way musicians practice scales: consistently, consciously, and until it becomes second nature.
Our story together stretches back to the early days of my artistic becoming, when her voice first struck me as something both celestial and grounding, a sound that could hold a room steady while lifting every heart inside it. That bond deepened profoundly during my second CD project, The Arrival, where Katrina became the featured performer on my track “In All Ways.” She didn’t just sing the song; she completed it. Her vocals gave the piece its emotional architecture: the tenderness, the ache, the quiet triumph. That collaboration remains one of the most defining creative moments of my career.
Her collaborations across the Bay—from grassroots stages to internationally touring projects—reveal a truth about her artistry: Katrina doesn’t just perform for people; she performs with them. She listens deeply, lifts others up, and treats every rehearsal, every gig, every community moment as an opportunity to make someone feel seen. That’s PMLE (Practice Makes Love Easy) in action.
As an artist rooted in resilience and joy, Katrina reminds us that love is not soft; it’s steady. It’s the courage to show up with your full voice, even when the world feels loud. It’s the choice to create beauty, connection, and belonging wherever you go.
Katrina Blackstone practices love the way she sings: boldly, generously, and with a devotion that transforms everyone lucky enough to be in the room, and I am honored to call her a friend.
Kippy Marks: How long have you been involved with the practicing of PMLE values in your work?
Katrina Blackstone: Loving people and themes of the heart have always come naturally to me, and have been present in my music through fifteen-plus years as a professional vocalist. Really practicing that love toward myself is something that’s deepened over the last eight years as I’ve moved through an inner healing journey. For the past three years, that journey has informed my vocal activation work, helping people move from head to heart.
Kippy Marks: Who or what motivated you to become the community activist you are today?
Katrina Blackstone: I wouldn’t necessarily call myself an activist in the traditional sense, but I do think of myself as an advocate for love, and for seeing the threads that connect us rather than what separates us. I really saw this firsthand a few years ago, when I began facilitating group experiences at an international yoga school in Bali, working with people from many different countries and cultures. What I saw, over and over, is that, no matter someone’s background or identity, we mostly want the same things: a sense of belonging, to be heard and understood, and to express ourselves with ease. That last one hasn’t come easily for so many people, often stemming from childhood. It’s become a big part of my mission to help people tune into their heart and liberate their unique voice, because I really believe that it has the power to unlock everything else in their life.
Kippy Marks: How old were you when you made that decision?
Katrina Blackstone: You’re putting me on the spot … your girl is ageless, after all! [Laughs] But if we’re talking about a decision point, it wasn’t really one moment; it’s been a lifelong journey. In the way I show up on this current trajectory, though, I’d say it definitely started about eight years ago, when I began the inner healing work that eventually helped me realize I wanted to use my voice as a tool for healing myself and others … and for helping them reclaim their voice too.
Kippy Marks: What advice would you give to others on how to practice love on the daily?
Katrina Blackstone: Connecting more to ourselves and to each other, this is definitely where it’s at. It starts with ourselves, taking a moment each morning to set the The heart of the Bay Area has a sound, and, if you listen closely, you’ll hear Katrina Blackstone right at its center—a vocalist whose voice doesn’t just fill a room; it warms it. As the nineteenth individual to be profiled in this column, Katrina embodies love as a daily discipline, artistry as service, and community as a living, breathing rhythm.
Katrina sings the way some people pray—with intention, with generosity, and with a tenderness that invites you to exhale. Whether she’s onstage weaving jazz, soul, and electronic textures into something unmistakably her own, or offstage mentoring young artists and uplifting creatives, she practices love the way musicians practice scales: consistently, consciously, and until it becomes second nature.
Our story together stretches back to the early days of my artistic becoming, when her voice first struck me as something both celestial and grounding, a sound that could hold a room steady while lifting every heart inside it. That bond deepened profoundly during my second CD project, The Arrival, where Katrina became the featured performer on my track “In All Ways.” She didn’t just sing the song; she completed it. Her vocals gave the piece its emotional architecture: the tenderness, the ache, the quiet triumph. That collaboration remains one of the most defining creative moments of my career.
Her collaborations across the Bay—from grassroots stages to internationally touring projects—reveal a truth about her artistry: Katrina doesn’t just perform for people; she performs with them. She listens deeply, lifts others up, and treats every rehearsal, every gig, every community moment as an opportunity to make someone feel seen. That’s PMLE (Practice Makes Love Easy) in action.
As an artist rooted in resilience and joy, Katrina reminds us that love is not soft; it’s steady. It’s the courage to show up with your full voice, even when the world feels loud. It’s the choice to create beauty, connection, and belonging wherever you go.
Katrina Blackstone practices love the way she sings: boldly, generously, and with a devotion that transforms everyone lucky enough to be in the room, and I am honored to call her a friend.
Kippy Marks: How long have you been involved with the practicing of PMLE values in your work?
Katrina Blackstone: Loving people and themes of the heart have always come naturally to me, and have been present in my music through fifteen-plus years as a professional vocalist. Really practicing that love toward myself is something that’s deepened over the last eight years as I’ve moved through an inner healing journey. For the past three years, that journey has informed my vocal activation work, helping people move from head to heart.
Kippy Marks: Who or what motivated you to become the community activist you are today?
Katrina Blackstone: I wouldn’t necessarily call myself an activist in the traditional sense, but I do think of myself as an advocate for love, and for seeing the threads that connect us rather than what separates us. I really saw this firsthand a few years ago, when I began facilitating group experiences at an international yoga school in Bali, working with people from many different countries and cultures. What I saw, over and over, is that, no matter someone’s background or identity, we mostly want the same things: a sense of belonging, to be heard and understood, and to express ourselves with ease. That last one hasn’t come easily for so many people, often stemming from childhood. It’s become a big part of my mission to help people tune into their heart and liberate their unique voice, because I really believe that it has the power to unlock everything else in their life.
Kippy Marks: How old were you when you made that decision?
Katrina Blackstone: You’re putting me on the spot … your girl is ageless, after all! [Laughs] But if we’re talking about a decision point, it wasn’t really one moment; it’s been a lifelong journey. In the way I show up on this current trajectory, though, I’d say it definitely started about eight years ago, when I began the inner healing work that eventually helped me realize I wanted to use my voice as a tool for healing myself and others … and for helping them reclaim their voice too.
Kippy Marks: What advice would you give to others on how to practice love on the daily?
Katrina Blackstone: Connecting more to ourselves and to each other, this is definitely where it’s at. It starts with ourselves, taking a moment each morning to set the tone for our day, whether that’s meditation, or moving and singing to feel good in our bodies. From there, it’s noticing how we speak to ourselves and to others. Are the words we’re using uplifting? Then I’d say, it’s the seemingly small stuff that’s actually way more impactful than one would think. For example, I love seeing someone at the store and being like, “Hey, girl, you’re rocking that outfit,” or, “Wow, cool style!” It’s such a quick way to make someone’s day, and it can make you feel just as good for bringing that love in.
Kippy Marks: If you were granted two universal wishes, what would you wish for?
Katrina Blackstone: My wish would be that children never have to experience the shutdown so many of us did, being made to feel too much or not enough by the people meant to protect us. And, since so many of us already have, my wish is that we find it within ourselves to heal, so the cycle stops with us instead of passing it forward.
My second wish is that the world starts awakening to the lies we’ve been fed, that we stop believing the story that “the other” is somehow separate from us. At the core, we’re all far more alike than we’ve been led to believe, and, energetically, what affects one of us affects all of us, whether we realize it or not.
Kippy Marks: Please share any current practices that our readers may find useful, and update us on what you are doing now.
Katrina Blackstone: For current practices, I do my best to come back to gratitude daily, or as much as I can remember to. I feel like there’s always something to be grateful for, and tuning into that can really help put things in perspective, especially when things are feeling crazy in the world. I also highly recommend putting on some affirmation music you can dance to and really get into your body: singing, moving, gratitude, and even EFT tapping. These are all practices I love and recommend to help you shift into a higher state. They naturally help you practice love for yourself and for others a little more easily each day.
Currently, I’ve been leading group vocal activations around the world, most recently at Mindvalley University in Tallinn, Estonia, a really exciting step onto more transformational stages. I’m also working 1:1 with people, helping them liberate their voice, and, this fall, I’m excited to launch my first online group program. On the music side, I’m working on my soulful heart anthems, along with an exciting collaboration, which I plan to begin releasing by the end of the year.
For More Information About Katrina Blackstone
https://www.thesingingoracle.com/
IG @KatrinaBlackstone
Spotify: https://bit.ly/4xkeA8Z
Dubbed San Francisco’s “King of Strings”, Kippy Marks is a spirited solo entertainer whose shows are permeated with an infectious joy. His distinctive sound arises from his heart, through his 1822 violin consort, Izabella. Marks’ rare talent, broad smile, and radiant warmth will brighten any event to create lasting impact. He is also Grand Duke XL of The Grand Ducal Council of San Francisco. He is the first ever elected African-American Grand Duke
Practice Makes Love Easy
Published on August 27, 2026
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