Although Katie Herzig was born in California, when she was a young girl her family moved out to Fort Collins, Colorado. When she was a senior in high school, Herzig received an acoustic guitar as a present from her father and she quickly started learning how to play the instrument. After graduating high school, Herzig enrolled at Colorado University in Boulder where she received a bachelor's degree in journalism. Whilst at school, she met three other musical cohorts and formed a band called Newcomers Home in 1997. The group played a unique style of bluegrass and folk, and helped build Herzig's confidence as a performer, but ultimately the band decided to break up in 2006, which left Herzig free to pursue a solo career.