Jen Ledger is a Christian, drummer, bassist, and singer; Jen Ledger is a multi-talented English musician with a penchant for rock music. She is known for her exceptional skills as a drummer and is the current drummer and co-lead singer of the American Christian rock band Skillet.
Skillet was formed in Memphis, Tennessee in 1996 by current lead singer and bassist John Cooper and Ken Steorts, who is no longer with the band. Other current members of Skillet are John Cooper’s wife, Korey Cooper, who happens to be the band’s vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and keyboardist, and Seth Morrison, who plays the lead guitar. Skillet has had a good track record since its inception, releasing ten albums (some of which have been awarded gold, platinum, and double platinum by the RIAA) and receiving two Grammy nominations. They are considered one of the best gospel rock bands of all time and were also among the top 5 Hardest Working Bands of 2010, as published by Songkick.com.
Since Jen Ledger joined Skillet in 2008, she has been a valuable asset to the band, and it’s safe to say that she has been an integral part of the band’s recent success. Her exploits with Skillet have resulted in her gaining thousands of personal fans who continue to praise her for her exceptional drumming skills and beautiful voice.
Jen Ledger Bio
Jennifer Carole Ledger was born on 8 December 1989 in Coventry, Warwickshire, United Kingdom, as the daughter of Carole Wingrove and Michael G. Ledger. Her parents are both British, but her father is also of German descent. She is the youngest of Carole and Michael’s four children, which include twin boys Martin and David, and another girl named Marie.
From 2001-2006 Jen attended the Blue Coat Church of England School in Coventry, United Kingdom. Later, at the age of 16, she moved to the United States of America to study music with a major in drums at the Living Light School of Worship in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Before moving to the United States, Jen was also a finalist in the British “Young Drummer of the Year” competition. This served as a kind of confirmation of her drumming talent and encouraged her to go to the USA to further improve her drumming skills.
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In 2008, at the age of 18, Jen Ledger joined the Skillet Band as their drummer after beating other prominent drummers to the position. She played extremely well in Skillet organized trials to replace former drummer Lori Peters, who had just retired at the time. In the same year, she went on her first tour with Skillet. It was the Winter Jam tour (which happens to be the biggest annual tour of Christian music). Jen toured with Skillet from January 10th to March 16th alongside major Christian music acts such as BarlowGirl, MercyMe, NewSong, and Mandisa.
Jen Ledger’s Tour With Skillet
She went on tour as Skillet’s drummer on the Comatose tour for the Comatose album, where Jen showed her vocals on the track “Yours to Hold”, which happened to be her first vocal solo with Skillet. She also got more solo and backup vocals in the following songs of Skillet, including some of them: Awake and Alive, Awake and Alive (The Quickening), Hero, Hero (iTunes Session), Hero (The Legion of Doom Remix), Hero (The Legion of Doom), Monster (Unleash the Beast), Yours to Hold (Live), Fire and Fury, Salvation, Sick of it (Live), Not Gonna Die, What I Believe, Everything Goes Black, I want to Live, and Watching For Comets, to name a few.
5 Lesser Known Facts about Jen Ledger
Every Jen Ledger fan should know most of what we discussed above. But here are some less known facts about the English drummer:
1. Before joining Skillet in 2008, Jen Ledger was part of a worship band from Kenosha, Wisconsin called The Spark. She wasn’t the drummer of the band either, as she already had a drummer; she had to make do with the position of the band’s bass player.
2. Jen was introduced to Skillet by a friend of hers named Rosalie, who also happens to be Korey Cooper’s sister.
3. Her first answer, when Rosalie informed her about Skillet’s interest in her, was “no”. But after praying about it, she decided that this was the right step for her. The rest, as we know, is history.
4. Jen has toured with other rock bands and was also the singer in some of their hits, e.g. Born Again with Third Day, Jesus Freak with TobyMac, and Oceans with NewSong.
5. After 10 solid years with Skillet, Jen Ledger finally signed a contract with Atlantic Records to release her debut EP entitled LEDGER on April 13, 2018. Ledger believes that this is the right time to do something of her own, after a decade under the tutelage and mentorship of John and Korey Cooper. She credits John and Korey Cooper for their writing skills and musical style, which will be featured on the EP. She insists that they gave her the courage to take this bold step in her career.
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LEDGER EP
The songs on the LEDGER EP are produced by the renowned Nashville producer Seth Moseley and Korey Cooper. Korey is also credited with some of the lyrics of the songs on the EP, but most of the songs were written by Jen. Atlantic Records president Pete Ganbarg has praised Jen for her unique voice and said the deal is a great win for Atlantic Records, as they have been patiently waiting for Jen Ledger to release her own work for most of a decade.
However, Jen’s contract with Atlantic Records does not prevent her from touring with Skillet. She was quoted as saying that she is still a very strong member of the Skillet team and that on April 12, 2018 (together with her own band of instrumentalists/musicians) she will be the opening act on Skillet’s UNLEASHED tour and will also take on her role as Skillet’s drummer when she performs.
Jen Ledger is indeed a phenomenal musician with undeniable talent. Her years of experience coupled with her strong fan base and the support she receives from Skillet and Atlantic Records allow us to confidently predict a successful solo career that lies ahead.
