Jen Anders Music

Start with the music.

Jen Anders performing “Stand By Me” live at Coneheads. One voice, one guitar, and a song about showing up for one another. Watch the live performance on YouTube.

“We don't all have to be the same to belong in the same room. Music gives us somewhere to meet.”

That’s the heart of Music for the Common Ground. A good song can give us a little room to breathe, recognize ourselves in somebody else, and remember there’s more holding us together than we sometimes think.

What is Music for the Common Ground?

A flexible 30–90 minute live music program from Southern singer-songwriter Jen Anders. Original music and carefully chosen familiar songs make room for belonging, unconditional love, courage, resilience, kindness, dignity, gratitude and joy.

Roots, soul, folk, blues and rock carry the conversation. A little storytelling connects the songs; the music does much of the work. The program is shaped around your audience, event theme, room and schedule.

The common ground

Jen believes there is something larger than any one of us connecting everyone and everything. Some call it God. Others hear love, Spirit, creation, nature, mystery, or the connection between us.

You don’t have to borrow somebody else’s words to recognize it. For Jen, it often becomes clearest when people find their way back to one another.

This is a spiritually open concert program, with room for faith, questions and people who don’t use religious language. Belonging doesn’t require agreement. Unconditional love leaves room for a whole person.

One program. Built for the room.

The schedule helps shape the program. The engagement is quoted as a whole, according to its scope and what it takes to bring the right music to your room.

Where it fits

Why this program exists

Jen grew up in a strict Southern Baptist environment. Her mother sang Southern gospel and traveled nationally through the church and conference network. Jen was a worship leader herself, from her teenage years into her early twenties.

She knows from the inside what music can do when people gather around something larger than themselves.

As an openly LGBTQ+ Southern woman, Jen’s life eventually moved beyond some of the boundaries she grew up with. Her understanding of God, faith, love and belonging grew broader along the way.

Music for the Common Ground comes from that lived experience: a love of the songs, a belief in our connection, and the wish to make room for people as they are.

The music

Jen’s low, smoky alto and rhythm guitar bring grit, warmth and Southern roots to original songs and familiar music with a fresh angle. The set can hold a hard truth and still leave room for a laugh, a harmony, or a little hope.

Hear her original “Somebody Sings the Song” on the Jen Anders artist page, or explore more original music and recordings.

The song choices are tailored to the gathering. Themes guide the set; the songs still get to be songs.

The right music in the right room

The goal is to put the right music in the right room. J.A.M. Productions helps choose the configuration that serves your event.

You don’t need to choose a lineup before asking about your date.

Other ways to bring Jen to your room

Jen Anders in Concert

A roots/soul singer-songwriter concert with originals, reimagined favorites and front-porch storytelling. Available solo, duo, acoustic trio or larger band. Meet Jen and hear the music.

Roots We Share

Jen Anders & The Public Domain brings public-domain roots music into the present with acoustic instruments, playful arrangements and stories behind the songs. A fit for heritage and history programs, museums, educational events, conferences and intergenerational audiences. Explore The Public Domain.

Sing & Share with Jen

An intimate, accessible music program for senior communities, older-adult ministries, community outreach, daytime conference programming and smaller or intergenerational gatherings. Ask about this program in the inquiry below.

About Jen

Jen Anders is a South Georgia-based full-time touring singer-songwriter and bandleader. Her music lives around roots, soul, folk, blues, rock and the Southern music that raised her.

With a low, smoky alto, humor and an instinct for turning familiar songs sideways, Jen builds shows around the songs and the people in the room. From one guitar to a larger band, the setup changes. The thread doesn’t.

Professional booking and production are handled through J.A.M. Productions. Read more about Jen.

Plan a program with Jen

Tell us about your gathering, your date and the people in the room. It’s fine to start with a rough idea.

Professional paid bookings through J.A.M. Productions. Travel and production needs are quoted according to the event, location and configuration.

Planning for more than one room?

Conferences, denominations, dioceses, synods, associations, college networks, retreat organizations and regional community networks can help good music find its next room.

Let’s talk about a conference appearance, several programs in one region, introductions to member organizations, or a relationship that grows into repeat programming. Regional routing can help make travel work more sensibly for everyone.

Good music travels well. So do good introductions.

A few useful answers

Let’s find the music for your room.

Bring the date, the people and the idea. We’ll build from there.

Jen Anders • Professional live programs through J.A.M. Productions