Jacqueline Hochheiser, Corporate Communications
Jena Moulds is back and better than ever! It’s been a while since we first heard of her journey to become a rock star in country music-saturated Branson, Missouri. Her story has continued to evolved and with it came new challenges and joys alike. Last we heard from Jena, she was part of a rock group called My So Called Riot, modeled after 90s rock bands. Since then, this group has broken up for a variety of reasons, one being creative differences between the members.
After separating from her original band, Jena began to see requests on Facebook come in asking her to audition for other groups and to listen to their music. Eventually, one of the members from Generationz reached out to her, looking for a vocalist that could fit their style. He sent Jena some samples of their music and after liking what she heard, Jena decided to audition. When she showed up, the band played some music for her and she was in awe of their talent.
“My husband and I went up to them to audition, and we were just blown away,” said Jena. “I was actually a little intimidated because they were so good!”
She was still a bit worried if her traditional country training would translate into the rock world, but after auditioning, the group loved her vocals and thought she would be a great fit. They were excited to have her on board since three people in the group had been playing together for 7 years and had always struggled to find a vocalist to fit their sound.
Now Jena has upped her game and is part of two new bands: Generationz and Cognition. Each band is comprised of five people, and of those five, four are the same in each of the bands, which enables them to experiment with different sounds and genres. Generationz serves as the heavier band, leaning more toward metal, while Cognition is more rooted in hard rock.
“This way we can throw both bands out there and see which one people gravitate toward,” said Jena. “Each one is unique and it’s fun to play around with different sounds. Right now, we’re not sure we fit into a specific genre, we’re kind of just doing our own thing.”
With Branson being heavily influenced by country music, Jena admits that finding venues to play at there have definitely presented a challenge, but her bands have still managed to play in Springfield, MO. Between the two bands, Jena and her group play live at least once a month, traveling to places near and far to get publicity. In February, Jena played in Saint Lewis, MO and in May the bands will appear in two shows: Once for a radio benefit 2-day event in Lincoln Nebraska and in Kansas City, Missouri for another radio hosted event.
“This way we can throw both bands out there and see which one people gravitate toward,” said Jena. “Each one is unique and it’s fun to play around with different sounds. Right now, we’re not sure we fit into a specific genre, we’re kind of just doing our own thing.”
With Branson being heavily influenced by country music, Jena admits that finding venues to play at there have definitely presented a challenge, but her bands have still managed to play in Springfield, MO. Between the two bands, Jena and her group play live at least once a month, traveling to places near and far to get publicity. In February, Jena played in Saint Lewis, MO and in May the bands will appear in two shows: Once for a radio benefit 2-day event in Lincoln Nebraska and in Kansas City, Missouri for another radio hosted event.
On top of playing live, the bands are each coming out with an album at the end of the year, and they have each already released four singles between the two of them: Something Wicked and Séance by Generationz, and The Game and The Washed by Cognition. Both bands have been featured across both commercial and indie radio stations globally with quite a bit of success in the UK. They even recently did a live interview on Matt Connerton’s Unleashed show on WMNH 95.3 in New Hampshire.
With a seeming resurgence for late 90s and 2000s artists, Jena feels that their timing is perfect to bring their music to market. Both bands are working hard and putting in the studio time to release full albums by the end of 2026. They are also working on getting websites up and running as well as merch.
“I was really nervous when we released Séance, my first single with Generationz in 2025, but the feedback has been amazing,” remarked Jena. “We’ve gotten so much support that mentally, now I’m like – ok, we’re doing this. I’m reconnecting to so many core parts of myself and all these memories are coming back, and it’s genuinely my happy place. I’m living my best life right now!”
While the bands are doing well and are very up-and-coming, Jena opened up about juggling her passion for music and traveling to play live as well as her work and her family. “It’s not easy,” she said candidly. “It’s a specific lifestyle and having gone through the other side of it as a kid, I didn’t want that same experience for my kids. I wanted to be there for them and support them in their passions. So, mine became secondary for a while. Now that my kids are older and more self-sufficient, I can focus on myself more.”
Although the balance can be difficult, performing and making music are Jena’s passion. Sometimes her family travels with her to shows to see her perform as well. In addition to her immediate family, Jena considers her team members at Mini-Circuits to be family as well, and she has gotten so much support throughout her music journey that she continues to be grateful for.
When asked what advice she would give to someone else looking to pursue their creative dreams, her biggest counsel was to stay true to yourself and do the things that genuinely make you happy. She also said that it’s important to surround yourself with like-minded people who support your creative endeavors and who will bolster you in the difficult times.
“Don’t be scared,” she said. “I think fear holds everyone back. When I talk about music, there is a space for everyone. There’s so much music out there. You can be great at something and be successful at something without being the best. There are always going to be naysayers and people who don’t like your work, so just focus on the people that do love it!”
Surrounded by a world that revolves around country music, Jena Moulds remains unapologetically herself to pursue her dreams. Even with the setback of losing her previous band, she kept going and found an even better opportunity with not one, but two new bands, each experimenting with their own unique sounds. With goals to tour and maybe even participate in a music festival in the coming years, Jena is looking forward to what the future holds.
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