Emily Grogan is a 19-year-old singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has been writing her own music since she was a child. She won the Screaming Fields competition in 2021 at the tender age of 15. It’s been an exciting journey ever since, with the musician performing numerous shows, recording her first single and video and opening for German indie pop star Joris in March 2025. She’s just finished her high school exams (she passed!) and performed again at this year’s edition of Screaming Fields, four years after her debut. A veteran, so to speak.

Emily spoke to Culture.lu about her musical influences, her family and why writing lyrics can sometimes be a bit scary. 

Hi Emily. You’re fresh off the Screaming Fields Festival. How was it?

The energy was really nice. There were a lot of people in the room and I mean just the experience of playing in a venue like that and having sound technicians, one on stage and one in front, and someone who did the lights – it was very professional. 

We were working with a lot of different people. We had a practice session where we played our set over and over again and Gérald Lambert, who was the coach, told us what was good and what we could improve. He also told us a few things about stage presence like how getting on stage and getting off stage is also really important, when really you wouldn’t think too much about it. Everyone was so kind, the sound technician was really nice, and yeah, it’s a really fun experience.

You mentioned once that you are influenced by Radiohead, Nirvana and Jeff Buckley, Bands and Musicians which are all a bit older. How did you come across these bands?

My dad listens to a lot of music and he always puts on CDs and music and we listen to a lot of Beatles and a lot of 70s bands when I grew up. I think he put on the Hail to the Thief album by Radiohead once in the living room and I was like “woah that sounds really cool!” And then during quarantine I kind of navigated towards that music and I remember I discovered No Surprises on YouTube and I was like “oh my God that’s so good!”! From then on I kind of started navigating towards Jeff Buckley and also Fiona Apple. I tried to discover a few things for myself. 

It sounds like your Dad was a big influence?

I think yeah, because he’s also very musical and he also really motivated me to start writing songs. I also have a sister, she also writes songs too. He also pushed us to start learning the guitar, which now is like my main instrument when it comes to songwriting. Even just the music he played in the background – whether I was fully listening or not – really influenced me.

You’ve started out playing the piano though, right?

Yes, I started with private lessons in this room actually when I was seven. For the guitar I never actually had any lessons. Just my dad showed me a few chords and I never really called myself a guitarist because honestly, I don’t know the instrument that well. When it comes to writing on the guitar, I just play around and I see what I like the sound of. 

Sometimes I play chords and I don’t even really know what I’m playing, when it sounds cool I’m like okay, yeah! I actually started with classical music and then when I was like 14 I started discovering Radiohead, I really navigate more to that genre.

You grew up in Luxembourg, your father is South African and your mother is from Moldova. Do these different backgrounds influence your music at all?

Honestly, I don’t think so really. The origins of my family are kind of funny because while my dad is South African, his grandparents are from England and Ireland. And my mother is Moldovan but her dad is actually Russian, so there is a whole mix of a lot of different things. I don’t think it actually really influences the music. Maybe the stories, the lyrics and what I experience.

Speaking of lyrics – what do you like to write about in your songs?

I usually write about what I’m feeling, although less so recently. For example, if I’ve had a bad day, I’ll be like “oh actually have these chords and I have a melody, but I still need lyrics” and then I write down what I’m feeling. For me writing lyrics is a bit like writing a diary. And it sometimes feels like it’s really necessary to write the lyrics in order to let go of a feeling and to have clarity with experiences and feelings. It’s actually really personal and sometimes also a little scary.  You’re playing your music and you’re like, wait people can hear what I’m saying! It’s kind of like if someone were reading your diary. 

So does this mean your lyrics are quite straightforward or do they leave room for interpretation? 

It depends on the song, but usually I think it’s sometimes a bit more abstract. I like the sound of it, I like when there is a bit of ambiguity. Sometimes, they’ll be songs where for example in the chorus you can understand it straight away. But sometimes, especially at the beginning, I would navigate towards it being a bit more ambiguous because I don’t want to expose myself too much.

You are currently in the process of recording your first album. How is that going?

It’s going well! We’ve recorded the drums and the bass for now and so now we are going to do the guitar and the voice. There’s been a little bit of a gap now because I was finishing school and so I had to focus on my exams. But now that it’s done, we can continue recording and hopefully we’ll be done soon. 

Congratulations on having that behind you, that’s a big deal. What are you planning to do next?

Thank you! Now I really want to focus on music. I also want to study music and study vocals at university. I don’t really know what I’m doing next year because I’m still applying for university and I’ll only know in September. 

Where would you like to go and study? Do you have any places in mind?

I think I would like to study in Germany because of the music scene there. I think Germany is a nice place to put yourself out there. My dream school right now would actually be Cologne. My sister studies there and I hear very good things.

You have a few concerts coming up where you’ll play with an additional band member. So you are playing with a drummer, a bassist and a new guitarist, and you are on vocals and guitar. What can people expect from your performance?

With the Screaming Fields I actually added a band member. The second guitar gives a whole different dimension to it and it sounds a lot fuller now, I think it sounds pretty complete. My shows are usually a mix of melancholy and a bit of – well it’s not really upbeat but you can kind of dance to it.   

Do you have any plans for concerts abroad, at this point?

Obviously, I’d love to but for now, there are no gigs yet outside of Luxembourg. But it’s something that I would really like to be working towards, to bring my music a bit out of Luxembourg 

As for your plans for the future, do you hope to make music your profession?

Yes, I feel like it’s the only thing I can do so I’d like to stick to it. (laughs)