 Her mother was a poet Kathryn Wiley while her father was a musician Fletch Wiley, one of "The Disciples".Tess's childhood was rather rough, she used to travel a lot from Houston to Seattle to San Francisco then back to Houston... She showed an interest in music and songwriting from an early age, adding "Create in Me a Clean Heart" and "Tender Shepherd" to her repertoire at the age of two.She began to play the piano at the age of five, then the violin at 12, and the guitar at 14.