ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Katrina “Kat” Williams, a beloved community member and local blues legend, passed away at age 58 on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025.

Williams had a storied career as a musician, performing live onstage at dozens of concerts and appearing on “America’s Got Talent” during the show’s third season. She also took an active role in local philanthropy, serving on the board for the Henderson County Boys and Girls Club and performing free-of-charge at numerous events.

With her passing, Williams leaves behind her partner, Patrice Boudreaux, as well as many friends, collaborators and admirers from the Asheville community and beyond.

Community care

At 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 12, news of Williams’ passing was shared on Facebook by the Artists Music Guild, an organization which Williams had been part of since 2011.

“Kat, who has been a member of the Guild since 2011 has always been and will always be our heart. She was never too tired to help with any charities we were doing, nor was she ever afraid of rolling up her sleeves and jumping in to help our public schools,” AMG wrote in their post.

Williams’ life was not without hardship. Before her death, Williams had struggled with kidney disease, undergoing a kidney transplant in 2018 after friends organized a fundraiser on her behalf. Her donor, Pat Gearity, had attended the same church as Williams, and was moved to donate by the musician’s story. The two underwent surgery at Duke Health without incident.

“When she steps to the mic at church, Kat brings joy to everyone,” Gearity wrote in a retrospective. “Saying ‘Yes’ to organ donation was simply what was mine to do – and it became one of the best decisions I ever made. It was truly an honor.”

Queen of the blues

While Williams dabbled in many different musical disciplines, including soul and gospel, she was famous for singing the blues.

“Nobody could sing a blues song like Kat could. She just lived it. Kat came up very hard, and every song that she sung, the soul that came out of her was the soul that she lived,” said David L. Cook, president of AMG and close friend of Williams for over 30 years. “It was very important to her that when she stepped on stage, every song had to be the right song. It had to be in the right time and everything. She was just one of a kind.”

Despite Williams’ prolific career as a songstress, performing in venues all over the world, much of her music could only be heard live.

The soul that came out of her was the soul that she lived.

“Kat wasn’t a recording artist. She was a performance artist,” Cook explained. “She did not like going into the studio to lay down a vocal for something, unless it was for something she believed in. She just wanted to go out and she just wanted to sing her music and she did. That’s what she did.”

Williams brought her passion for performing to many energetic live shows in the Asheville area, including at White Horse Black Mountain, where director of operations Zach Hinkle was proud to host her.

“When Kat looks at you and smiles, it kind of makes your knees buckle a little bit. It’s like an overwhelming sense of joy. She really, really loved to be on stage. She loved music. She loved to create for people,” Hinkle recalled. “She brought people together with, not just music, it was her energy. Her laugh. Her smile, man. Her smile was really meaningful. She was a special person.”

Williams performing at Unity of the Blue Ridge Church in Mills River, N.C.:

Laughter is the best medicine

Even coping with illness in the months before her death, Williams was still performing for the good of others. According to Cook, the musician was even set to headline a benefit concert for the children of Gaza in January 2026.

Williams had a reputation for a killer sense of humor, too.

“She was so funny. Her reverence was just bananas,” Hinkle said.

When Kat looks at you and smiles, it kind of makes your knees buckle a little bit. It’s like an overwhelming sense of joy.

Hinkle shared a memory of Williams’ signature wit from the last time she sang at White Horse. According to the venue director, for several years before she passed, Williams had not been performing at full strength.

“We would never assume that she could do an encore. I would always go up to her, and I would ask her, and the way I’d ask her is I’d hug her,” Hinkle explained. “She’d be coming off stage, and I’d give her a hug onstage, and I would whisper in her ear, like, ‘Do you want an encore?’ And sometimes she would say no. She would say, ‘I’m done. I gotta go. And I’d be like, ‘Okay, cool.'”

At the end of her final performance at White Horse, Hinkle and Williams did their usual routine.

“The last time, I hugged her and I asked her, whispered in her ear, ‘Do you want an encore?’ She whispered back in my ear, ‘If you grab my ass in front of this whole crowd, I’ll give you two encores!” Hinkle laughed. “Let me add that her wife is, like, sitting right there in the front row, you know? I mean, that’s who Kat was, man. She was… She was life. She was life.”

Honoring an icon

Williams was scheduled to perform with her band at White Horse on Saturday, Nov. 22. Instead, the show has been refashioned as a Kat Williams Tribute, where Williams’ band and several special guests will honor the blues artist with a benefit concert for her wife. Tickets are a suggested donation price of $25, with all proceeds from the door going directly to Boudreaux. Find more information here.

According to Cook, the musician’s obituary will also be available at www.lifeandlegacyservice.com.

Williams leaves behind the memory of a life led in the name of kindness, generosity and making music.

“There was never anybody else you would want to be on the stage after a crisis or when people were sad and needed someone to lift them up, bring them together,” Hinkle said. “She was the best.”