Jen Meyerhardt was born in St. Louis, MO and raised in New Canaan, CT, where the lack of a local live music scene forced her to either sneak into New York City dance clubs or pretend to be sleeping over a friend’s house while heading to Grateful Dead shows in the Northeast.
The Dead’s stellar performance at Alpine Valley in the summer of 1984 propelled her to devote a couple of summers to chasing the band cross-country, causing Jen to fall in love with the jamband scene. That love affair was forever solidified by a wild 1991 Bill Graham Telluride Midsummer Music Fest late night show at the Sheridan Opera House, featuring members of the Allman Brothers Band, Blues Traveler, and Widespread Panic. In the right place at the right time for this unexpected event, Jen was living in Telluride, taking a year off between college and the NYU School of Law, while waitressing at the Floradora Saloon. All of these concerts and the vibrant community they attracted were the soul food she needed to fuel her time through law school and a stint in Silicon Valley.
These days, Jen lives in Nyack, practicing law and advising several entities who champion social justice issues, music-related causes, and community-building endeavors. Along those lines, she serves on the Board of Directors for Feminist.com and is the Vice President of the Gerald L. Lennard Foundation.
Without a doubt, her favorite album is Joni Mitchell’s Blue, she somehow has the time to attend an average of three live concerts per week, and she’s most looking forward to seeing Neal Francis for the first time in 2022.
This self-described “bad Jew” loves to celebrate Christmas with her family, and her favorite food, tequila. Ultimately, Jen loves volunteering for FAN because assisting the community that sustains her sanity and surrounds her with like-minded and amazing people helps satisfy her need to give back.