There's no doubt about it; Jen has been playing music all of her life. With straightforward lyrics that relate universally and music that flows from one song to the next, despite several different styles exhibited, Jen has the ability to captivate any audience. The lyrics speak of life, love, and lifting ourselves up when things don’t go just right. The underlying music is melodic and heartfelt and calls to mind several different influences. Critics say her voice is “soulfully raucous” and that “Jen has a true Janis Joplin feel to her deep, soulful, very rocking voice”.
Speaking on Jen’s songwriting, critics say "...calls to mind the intensity of Fiona Apple combined with the self-sufficient attitude of Alanis Morissette" and “Porter has the pop sensibilities of Vanessa Carlton, but she’s all grown up”. With a voice that reaches out and grabs you and a musical style that's captivating and melodic, you won't soon forget this performer.
Jen was born and raised in Chicago and had music in her life from the very beginning. She was singing before she could walk and began playing piano at the age of 5. Jen spent the next 14 years being classically-trained. When she went off to the University of Michigan, eventually obtaining a BA, Jen was given her mother’s Gibson acoustic guitar. Without a piano to play, Jen quickly began learning a new instrument to accompany her vocal styling.
Soon after graduating, Jen realized that she wanted more than an education: She wanted to perform. She worked with several bands, singing lead and harmonies, playing piano and guitar in many venues around southeastern Michigan for close to five years. As Jen began writing more of her own original work, the quest to share her music brought her home, to Chicago . Jen currently plays four to five times per week in and around Chicago and is continually booking more performances in other cities, mainly in the midwest. She has also assembled a diverse and talented group of backing musicians, The Most Fabulous Band, for full band performances of her work and well-chosen covers. The Most Fabulous Band has performed at Navy Pier, Cubby Bear, North Avenue Beach, the House of Blues Hotel and other venues about once a month, as well as enjoying a weekly residency as a trio.
The combination of Jen's powerful voice and formidable backing band is attracting more attention than ever before. She has played many venues around the city including The Cubby Bear, House of Blues hotel & Hard Rock Café to name only a few. By invitation, Jen has been a part of several singer showcases, including the Chicago Singer Spotlight, the Local Vocal Brew and Chick Singer Night-Chicago. Jen also had the distinct honor of sharing a stage with Odetta, Michelle Shocked, Harolyn Blackwell, The Chantels and more at the Girl Scouts 90th Anniversary Sing-Along on the mall in Washington DC in June 2002. Jen and her new friends performed for and sang along with over 120,000 audience members in the Nation's Capital.
Not to be outdone, the 95th Anniversary Sing-Along, held in June of 2007, boasts approximately 200,000 singing along. Jen also got to perform with Harolyn Blackwell, the Washington Mystics WNBA team, and sang a song in Spanish with Kathleen Herles, the voice of Dora the Explorer.
Jen also sings a song that's rather challenging and quite moving: The National Anthem. She sings it a cappella and has commanded the attention of over forty thousand spectators in attendance at major league sporting events held at The Palace of Auburn Hills (Detroit, MI), Wrigley Field, Soldier Field & US Cellular Field (Chicago, IL), as well as at the request of the City of Orland Park, IL for a commemorative 9/11 Ceremony in 2002. Imparting a strong sense of patriotism and triggering emotion in so many fans, Jen soulfully performs the Anthem to perfection, bringing audiences to their feet time and time again.
Her style is expansive and universal, though best described within rock/folk rock/adult contemporary genres. You can't help but love her powerhouse voice, rhythmic piano and mellow, acoustic guitar. Jen plays everything from Stevie Nicks, Janis Joplin & Alanis Morrisette to Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin & Queen, as well as her own original rock creations.
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