While touring ’90s hip-hop and R&B artists have been mainstays within Detroit’s concert venues, their early 2000s counterparts seem to get lost in the shuffle at times.
Enter “Club 2000,” a new live music series at Southwest Detroit’s El Club featuring artists who made a name for themselves in the early 2000s — and have the awards and gold certifications to show for it. The series kicks off on Saturday with Day 26, followed by Tweet on Feb. 8 and J-Kwon on May 17 (whose 2004 hit “Tipsy” was revived last year via country crossover star Shaboozey’s inescapable chart-topper “A Bar Song”).
“There have been a handful of throwback early 2000s-themed events that have happened, but none have brought in these people,” says Lauren McGrier, the general manager of the El Club and owner of event company Connect with Lo.
The series is a slight pivot for El Club as it’s a collaboration with McGrier’s Connect With Lo brand.
“They [the owners of El Club] have been very instrumental with my career overall with curating events,” Mc Grier says. “But we noticed within this last year, things have been kind of the same.”
McGrier wants to set the record straight that this won’t be a listening session: the actual artists will be there performing full sets, and will hang out afterwards at the intimate venue, which holds about 400 fans. More artists will also be announced in the coming months.
“People are excited and looking forward to it,” she adds.
