Jen Hillard is a local cover artist who specializes in two genres: classic rock and what she describes as “’90s chick-rock.” Rather than sticking to a setlist, she always opens her performances up to the crowd, taking requests for songs to cover. And when she gets hit with an unfamiliar request? She laughs and gives it her best shot, or she invites the crowd to help her out. For Jen, it’s all about the atmosphere she can create on stage.
“I always want the audience to be involved,” she said. “I want them to feel, even for a moment, like everybody is in the same place. It can sometimes last a whole song, or it can just last a chorus when everybody’s singing together. They may not be getting the same thing out of it, but if everybody’s engaged and connected, there’s something transcendent about it. I want people to walk away remembering it.”
Reaching Transcendence with Jen Hillard
