Luxembourg had a really high standard of jazz musicianship and a sound Blues scene too, but there was no songwriter scene. Musicians and singers from original projects would often see each other backstage during the Festival Season but kept to themselves and their bands. There was no musical interaction between singers and songwriters, other than the occasional opening sets at eachother bands’ CD
releases. The Grund Club set out to change that. The first singer-songwriter event organized by Lata was on the 20th of September 2013 in the Liquid bar on rue Münster, in the piturestque Grund neighbourhood in Luxembourg City. It was called « Songwriters in the Grund » and it was a traditional songwriter circle event, with 5 participants. The event was to be repeated every season, four times per year. By September 2014, Lata had set up a backing band to support the guest songwriters and created an entire system of rotation for returning songwriters and for the new yet undiscovered talents. In October 2015, a non-profit organization The Grund Club Luxembourg asbl was set up and the seasonal shows found a new home at the Neumünster Cultural Center. At the same time, the Grund Club also became a « resident artist » at the Red Cross’ Hariko building in Bonnevoi Luxembourg. By November 2015, The Grund Club represents a collective of more than 25 musicians and songwriters. The performing side of the club includes 4 official The Grund Club SONGWRITERS season shows at Neümunster Abbey; 12 yearly The Grund Club VOICES shows in order to give club singers the opportunity to perform longer sets; 6 The Grund Club PRIVATE SESSONS to showcase our best songwriters in a completely unplugged setting and The Grund Club QUARTET, performing instrumental interpretations of songs from The Grund Club Song Catalogue that the club collects from its official shows. On the amateur side, the Club also organises Open Mic Afternoons every 2 weeks at Hariko, a range of workshops and music lessons, as well career councelling for aspiring singers and singer-songwriters. Future projects include a regular radio show or podcast and the recording of a yearly Grund Club CD containing the best of each year’s official season show performances.
