[7][8] Her uncle, part-Ojibwe (Temagami First Nation) singer-songwriter Bob Carpenter,[9] worked with producer Brian Ahern and singer Emmylou Harris and recorded the unreleased Silent Passage (1974), which has since become a folk- rock cult classic.

[10][11][12][13] Ryder, youngest of three children, was raised by Barbara and her second husband, Andrew McKibbon, just outside Peterborough, in Millbrook, Ontario, and grew up listening to old records by the Beatles and Leonard Cohen from her parents' collection.

The product of their sessions was a self-titled promotional cassette, Serena (limited to a run of 100 copies) and her first full-length CD, Falling Out, released in December 1999.

During that time, de Szegheo also managed Ryder and organized many live concert appearances for her with local and touring acts including bands Thousand Foot Krutch, Three Days Grace (Then named Groundswell) and Craig Cardiff.

[17] This award enabled Ryder and Bonnici to attend a regional music festival conference and make some initial connections.

This led Stunt and Symes to invite Ryder for a performance recorded by CBC Bandwidth at the Black Sheep Inn.

[citation needed] Ryder was invited by Erin Benjamin (then the president of the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals) to perform in Winnipeg at a regional music conference.

The tracks include Sylvia Tyson's “You Were On My Mind”, Leonard Cohen's "Sisters of Mercy", Galt MacDermot's "Good Morning Starshine" the Bob Dylan–Rick Danko collaboration "This Wheel's on Fire", and Paul Anka's "It Doesn't Matter Any More."

Touring in Canada, Ryder was part of Blast From The Beach in Prince Edward Island on July 21, 2007 headlined by Aerosmith and featuring other notable bands, including 54-40 and Cheap Trick.

[21] In July 2010, Ryder joined the lineup of Lilith Fair along with Sara Bareilles, Jill Hennessy, Emily Robinson, and Martie Maguire.

The first single "Stompa", co-written with Bettis, was used in an episode of ABC television's Grey's Anatomy, quickly climbed the charts, and became certified platinum in January 2013.

[38] On September 9, Ryder was invited for a duet with Brett Kissel at the Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) Awards in Hamilton.

[40] On September 12, 2019, Ryder and her longtime manager Sandy Pandya co-launched ArtHaus, a collaborative space and recording studio aiming to promote emerging talent.

[49] In 2023, Ryder's 2013 hit "What I Wouldn't Do" was covered as a supergroup charity single, to benefit Kids Help Phone's Feel Out Loud campaign for youth mental health.

[50] The cover, which included Ryder's direct participation, also interpolated parts of Leela Gilday's song "North Star Calling".

"[52] Reviews have compared her to "the teenaged Aretha Franklin" (Elle), noting her "impressive fearlessness" (Boston Globe), lauding her "pipes, presence [and] potential" (No Depression), and observing that "Ryder brings a range and vocal maturity of someone twice her age" (American Songwriter).

[53] On August 11, 2018, Ryder was one of the artists invited to join Billy Talent for the #TorontoStrong benefit concert following the Danforth shooting on July 22, 2018.

[56] On October 19, 2019 Ryder joined the roster of artists who performed for the benefit concert Secret Path at Roy Thompson Hall.

Secret Path is a recreation of the 2016 multimedia performance by the Tragically Hip's lead singer Gord Downie on the story of Chanie Wenjack, a 12-year-old Ojibwe boy who died while escaping a residential school in 1966.