Krysta “K.Raydio” Rayford is a multifaceted, critically acclaimed performing and teaching artist based in Chicago. As K.Raydio, Krysta has spent over a decade making an impact in Minneapolis as an independent singer-songwriter, performing on a variety of stages and collaborating with a diverse roster of talented musicians. Since 2010, the Midwestern singer-songwriter and producer has released over a dozen albums and EP’s, over 100 features and singles, and has over 1,000,000 combined streams on DSPs including Spotify, Apple Music and Soundcloud.  

Her unique and soulful voice has been featured internationally on platforms such as VH1, BBC Radio and Okayplayer. In both 2014 and 2019, K.Raydio was a featured artist and producer at Soundset Music Festival, one of the largest hip-hop music festivals in the United States. She is a voting member of the Recording Academy (Class of 2021) and a member of Broadcast Music, Inc. 

Offstage, Krysta is a Faculty Instructor of Electronic Music Recording Arts (EMRA) at MacPhail Center for Music in Minneapolis. She joined the innovative program when it was established in Fall 2020. During her time at the largest community music school in the United States, Krysta has also been a Global Music Initiative (GMI) Artist-in-Residence, facilitating arts workshops, and speaking to students and educators about electronic and hip-hop music at K-12 schools throughout Minnesota. Her course “The Singer/Songwriter’s Toolkit” has had four cohorts of student musicians since its inception, providing songwriting tools, exercises and music production techniques for both novice and advanced learners. Her residency project “Step Up to the Mic” was presented to K-12 students at select Twin Cities schools.

Outside of music, Krysta has years of experience as Voiceover Talent with a specialized background in Audio Description narration. Her credits include Empire (FOX), A Black Lady Sketch Show (HBO), Independent Lens (PBS), Barbie’s Dreamhouse Adventures (Netflix), and Around The Way (Hulu) among others. 

When she is not making music or teaching, Krysta is a sports-obsessed foodie who loves her family, her cats and repping the Midwest. She holds a B.A. in Communication Arts (Radio, TV & Film) from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and believes it is never too late to learn! As a self-taught musician with a non-traditional path to music education, she knows how important it is to feel supported on your learning journey. As a teaching artist and public speaker, it is important for her to help students of all ages with setting goals for their dreams and supporting them in achieving them. “Believe in yourself, as I believe in you.”