About Grandler

Full Bio

Grandler is an alias of the driven singer / songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Rob v.d. Biggelaar. Grandler is a free English translation of his last name. Since his youth, he plays guitar and he learned to play several other instruments over the years. Like the blues harp, oboe, percussion, drums, banjo, mandolin and piano.

In 2010 he graduated from the Conservatory majoring in contemporary vocals. In recent years he has gained experience, national and international, as a lead singer and guitarist for his own bands, various cover bands and big bands. During 2004 and 2009 he performed with his rock band named “Phoenix Red” his own work in various national venues such as the Melkweg in Amsterdam, great room 013 in Tilburg, the WII in Den Bosch, The Mezz in Breda and they were  the support of an international artist. In 2006 they released their EP called “Madman’s Cry”.

Other major venues and festivals where he played with other bands are the Paradox (Tilburg), the international Zydeco Festival and the Tolhuistuin (Amsterdam). Furthermore his music was used on Brazilian tv. Since 2010 he performs solo under the name Grandler with his own songs (in both English and Dutch). In 2019, he reached the semifinals in a prestigious songwriters contest in the US. In other contests in the UK he won two recommended entry awards in 2016, for two of his songs in the category Pop and Retro. Musically he is nourished by music from the the 90’s rock scene and the 50s / 60s /70s, thanks to the record collection of his parents. the 90’s rock scene. Sources of inspiration are Eric Burdon, Bill Withers, John Hiatt, Gregory Porter. With a solid backing band (f.e. Chris Strik – drums, Mark van der Feen – Rhodes and more) he recorded his debut album called “Right side of the road”. The album was released on November 1st of 2016. Grandler brings a diverse and idiosyncratic repertoire, lyrical songs in a folk, blues, rock & blues style. With his authentic and characteristic dark voice, a surprising musical performance is guaranteed.