Tristen (Born Tristen Gaspadarek, 1983) is an American musician and songwriter. She grew up in Lansing, IL, a blue collar suburb of Chicago, where at the age of 8, her musician father encouraged her to take up the piano. Growing up with access to her father's modest home studio, Tristen was able to experiment with songwriting and recording from a young age. Initially inspired by the local Oldies station 104.3 and The Beatles she began writing her own songs. It was not long before she picked up the guitar and started performing her original material in local coffeehouses. After graduating from De Paul University in 2007, where she studied relational group and organizational theories of communication, she moved to Nashville, TN to focus on her music. Immersing herself in the burgeoning Nashville indie scene, she began recording songs on a $200 Mbox Mini and posting them to MySpace. When she had an album's worth of her home recordings, she self-released them as the record Teardrops & Lollipops, packaging CDs in handsewn sleeves she would sell at shows.

In February 2011 she released her label debut Charlatans At The Garden Gate to critical acclaim, with Rolling Stone magazine praising the record for its "catchy refrains with multiple meanings," and "ear-tugging melodies with hidden hooks." The album was also recognized favorably by NPR, Spin Magazine, The Onion AV Club, and Paste Magazine among many others. At the close of 2011 her record Charlatans At The Garden Gate was cited in many year end lists including American Songwriter Magazine's "Top 50 Albums Of 2011." "Charlatans At The Garden Gate" was also honored by Nashville Alt-Weekly the Nashville Scene as the "Top Local Album of 2011"