Serena Ryder

Singer, songwriter and guitarist Serena Ryder was born on December 8, 1983 in Millbrook, Ontario, Canada. A strikingly pretty brunette with a remarkably deep, soulful and powerful three-octave voice, Serena stems from strong musical roots: Her Canadian mother was a go-go dancer and touring back-up singer while her Trinidadian father was a guitarist and percussionist with the Carribean folk group the Tradewinds. Ryder began singing publicly when she was just a little girl and got her first guitar from her dad at age thirteen. She attended the Integrated Arts Program at Peterborough Collegiate and Vocational Institute and took music lessons from Terry Finn at Finn's House of Music. Serena started out performing solo as a teenager plus performed with the Christian rock band Thousand Foot Krutch and the hard rock alternative group Three Days Grace. Ryder released her first album "Falling Out" on the indie label Mime Radio in 1999. In 2002 she recorded a demo album which led to her playing