30+
Years on the road
Thousands of live events across Europe, and relationships that grow over years of working together.
About GRIOT · Independent Music Agency
Music brings
people together.
For over thirty years, we have brought extraordinary artists and audiences together. Through European booking, management and international productions, we help music find its stage.
A few chapters of our work
From long-standing artist relationships
to large international cultural programmes.
900+
Performances at EXPO
Cultural programmes for the Africa Pavilion and the Global House at EXPO in Germany.
International productions
Music on a wider stage.
Projects for the German government have included World Cup celebrations at the Brandenburg Gate and an Africa Gala in Berlin.
The people who shaped us
Let the artists speak.
Our work spans generations: from Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekela to Freshlyground, and our continuing role as lead agent for the five-time Grammy-winning Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
Three films. Three encounters that belong to GRIOT’s story.
A lasting influence
HUGH
MASEKELA
He shaped the way we understand live music.
Over more than twenty years, perhaps no other artist influenced the development of GRIOT — and our understanding of the live circuit — as profoundly as Hugh Masekela.
His music, his stories and his way of being with an audience became part of how we understand our own work. This film lets him speak for himself.
Hugh Masekela · 21 Icons
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Artists, partners, shared journeys
MIRIAM
MAKEBA
A remarkable artist. Unforgettable concerts.
Working with Ina Dittke & Associates, we toured Miriam Makeba through the final decade of her career. The name held a small story of its own: behind the plural “Associates” was, in fact, GRIOT.
Those concerts remain unforgettable, right through to Miriam’s final performance in Italy. The collaboration is also a reminder that this work grows through trust and partnership, as much as through any individual company.
Here, Miriam tells the story behind Soweto Blues.
Miriam Makeba · The story behind Soweto Blues
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Frankfurt · A moment to remember
JOHNNY CLEGG
& NELSON MANDELA
An invitation. An extraordinary guest.
GRIOT arranged the Johnny Clegg concert in Frankfurt at which Nelson Mandela accepted our invitation and joined the musicians on stage. It remains one of the most moving moments in our history.
A memory from Wulf:
“Although I had arranged the concert, I ended up being the one person who never shook Mandela’s hand.”
You can read more about this in coming parts of “The GRIOT Story” below.
Johnny Clegg with Nelson Mandela
YouTube loads only after you press play. Watch on YouTube ↗
Peace. Understanding. Tolerance.
These values run through the artists we work with and the encounters we help make possible. They are part of the work, every day.
The GRIOT story
Part One · June 1991“Translate!”
Francis Bebey, a rain song, and the moment everything changed.
It all began with Francis Bebey.
I was still working at Peter Hammer Verlag, a publishing house with a strong commitment to writers from Latin America and Africa, when I was sent on tour with him. The idea was to bring African literature to an audience.
But Francis was much more than a writer. He was a storyteller and a musician. And, as I would discover, a magician.
The rain song
Our first appearance was at the Kirchentag in Dortmund’s Westfalenhalle in June 1991. What a first experience of the stage. We were part of a larger programme with other artists and writers, including Günter Grass. I was thrilled to meet him in person.
That was also where I first experienced a little of Francis’s magic. He played a rain song on his guitar. As the song drew to a close, he was only tapping the body of the instrument with his fingers, more and more softly.
And then it began to rain.
I had goosebumps. At the time, I told myself it was a strange coincidence...
Francis also played what he called his “magic flute”. It had only one note — and yet he could make music with it. Around that single tone, he shaped a melody with his voice, with the air moving in and out. It was a whole world of sound.
Inside the music
After Dortmund, Francis and I gave a full performance together at the Ludwig Forum in Aachen. I read from his books, translated when he spoke to the audience, and sometimes joined in when he told stories.
Then he introduced an instrument I had never seen before. He called it a Sanza: a small wooden instrument with metal keys, maybe better known as Kalimba or Mbira — Francis said it’s an “African thumb piano”.
When Francis began to play, I lost all sense of time and space. The music was everywhere. It was not only around me; it was inside me. There was only music.
The next thing I remember is Francis looking at me and saying: “Translate!”
I had not even noticed that he had spoken. I was still caught in music..
In a very real sense, GRIOT was born in that moment.
A different life
There is much more to tell about that tour, about the small miracles and wonders along the way. It felt as though Francis had opened a book within me. He shared things he said he had never told “a white man” before. Through him, I discovered a new understanding of music and culture.
By the time the tour ended, I could not simply return to my studies or to my work at the publishing house. Francis had welcomed me into his family — more than that, he adopted me as his “pizza loving son”; Francis had a fantastic sense of humour ... I left the other things behind and founded the company.
Fortunately, I did not know how difficult it could be. Would I have chosen another path if I had? I do not think so. This business can be tough. But what keeps me here is the music.
GRIOT began as an adventure. It is still an adventure. And we want to keep it that way.
To be continued