Acantha LANg Interview

From New Orleans to the UK: Acantha Lang's Rise in Soul and Blues Is More Than Just 'Beautiful Dreams'—It's a Reality! 

INTERVIEW BY: GINA SEDMAN, WRITER/JOURNALIST & HEAD EDITOR 

Emerging from the musical heart of New Orleans, Acantha Lang is a beacon of Soul and Blues, her captivating voice echoing the influences of greats like Nina Simone, Betty Wright, Mavis Staples, and Aretha Franklin. This talented artist possesses a distinctive sound that is unmistakably her own and has a remarkable ability to write songs. She penned the empowering track "Gonna Be All Right," featured on Robert Randolph and the Family Band's Grammy-nominated album, Got Soul. With the release of her debut album, Beautiful Dreams, Acantha invites listeners to delve deeper into her musical narrative. I recently had the chance to sit down with her and explore the inspirations behind her journey in music. Here's what she had to share. 

Hi, Acantha, how are you today? I'm doing great, thank you. 

Awesome. Firstly, thank you for your time today. You're such an amazing talent, and I'm thrilled to speak with you. Thank you so much! 

It's my pleasure. Acantha, may I ask where you're from and where you're currently located? I was born and raised in New Orleans—I'm a southern Louisiana girl. But before I made the jump from Louisiana to London, I had a buffer in between. I lived in New York City for a long time before coming over to London. 

Do you think having that buffer helped ease the transition? Oh, definitely. I think it was a good thing. If I had come straight from New Orleans to London, it would have been a serious culture shock. After living in New York, you feel like you can handle anything because New York is wild! So yes, I'm glad I had that experience. 

Absolutely. Reflecting on your early experiences, what aspects of music sparked your initial passion? What moments from your youth stood out and made you fall in love with music? It's interesting because people often assume that as a soul singer, I grew up in the church or came from a musical family, but my story is the opposite. I didn't grow up in the church or sing in a gospel choir. 

In fact, there wasn't much music played in our house because my parents were pretty strict. But I had an older sister who played music, and I'd hear what she listened to and try to sing along. In retrospect, I think I was always drawn to music, but it took time for me to realize that being a soul singer was my true calling, just waiting to come out. 

Did you mostly listen to soul music, or was your taste more varied? It evolved over time. Growing up in the South, most Black families heard artists like Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin, but I didn't discover that kind of music until later. I mostly listened to whatever my sister played, which was pretty random and not specifically soul music. But as I got older, discovering soul music was a defining moment for me—when I knew singing was what I wanted to do. 

Beautiful. So, once you realized singing was your calling, did you have a plan in mind? Did you start entering talent shows, or did you find yourself in the right place at the right time where someone noticed your talent and encouraged you? How did it all come together? Because there wasn't any musical guidance at home, I looked to the music scene in New Orleans. There were street bands, marching bands, and battles of the bands at my high school, so there was always great music around. I even entered a couple of talent shows in high school, just dabbling, but I bombed and didn't get through. It was awful, and that made me insecure about singing. 

In college, I tried to take piano lessons and singing classes, but I didn't excel at those either because I didn't really understand how to sing. I wasn't trained—I was just trying to figure it out. All I knew was that I felt drawn to it. 

Later, when I moved to New York, a girlfriend of mine who remembered me singing at lunch in high school convinced me to sing at a jam night. We were in the bathroom, whispering about it because I didn't want to go up there—I was scared. But she convinced me. When I got up there, girl, I was like a deer in headlights! It was awful. All these little moments added up, and I developed stage fright. 

Wow, that must have been tough. How did you work through that? Eventually, I had an ex-boyfriend who started pushing me to sing. He heard me one day and thought I had a nice voice. He asked if I'd ever thought about singing, and I said no. He helped me get out of my shell, and we started going to jam nights in New York. That's how I began exploring the possibility of singing. 

So, you transitioned from New Orleans to New York and then made the leap across the ocean. What inspired the move to London? Was advancing your music career your main goal when you arrived? When I was in New York, I kept going to jam nights, trying to overcome my stage fright. My ex-boyfriend opened a restaurant called 'The Harlem Grill,' which used to be the legendary Wells Restaurant—a famous gathering place for Black musicians after their performances at the Cotton Club. He turned it into a supper club with live music almost every night, and I got really good at my jam nights. So, we decided to start a Blues night, and that's where my career began to take shape. I had some of the top session musicians playing with me, and it all clicked. 

After a couple of years, the relationship ended, and the restaurant closed, but I learned so much from those Blues nights in Harlem. While performing at The Harlem Grill, I met a booking agent who started booking me for Blues and Jazz festivals across Africa and the Caribbean. It was like this weird, underground career that I had, and nobody really knew about it. Eventually, someone saw me performing and asked me to audition for a gig at one of the hottest clubs in New York called "The Box." I got the gig, and over time, I became the first female master of ceremonies for the show. That's how I ended up in London—when they opened "The Box" here, they offered me a position. 

What an incredible journey! It sounds like a modern-day Cinderella story. You've gone from being a shy singer to a rising soul artist with an impressive future. Now, let's talk about your debut album, Beautiful Dreams. It reached #3 on the UK Jazz and Blues album chart! Congratulations! How did you achieve that milestone? Thank you! I'm completely independent—no record label. Before I released any music, I did a lot of research and asked for advice from the mentors and music contacts I'd met while working at "The Box." I pieced together bits of information from those conversations, and that led me to some key decisions. 

One of those decisions was to work with a consultant named Kelly Ridgway, who helped me with marketing and release strategies. Instead of releasing the entire album all at once, we decided to drop singles and build momentum slowly, giving people a chance to get to know me and my music. By the time the album came out, we had built enough interest that the sales in the first week contributed to landing on the charts. 

The music scene here in the UK is quite different from the US. How do you think it compares, especially in terms of support? It's interesting because when I left the US, I wasn't an artist with a catalog yet—I was just a singer. So, I haven't really done a proper "Acantha Show" in my hometown. I'm looking forward to that someday. 

The UK is great because it's smaller and more concentrated than America. You can get to know the key players in the soul scene here and make a plan to get your music out. In America, it's a much bigger landscape, so the approach is different. 

Absolutely! Your sound is truly one of a kind. Let's revisit our earlier discussion. What distinguishes your sound from what's typically played on the radio today is remarkable. I grew up surrounded by incredible music and talented bands, both instrumentally and vocally gifted artists. Having graduated high school in the early '90s, I've always believed that each generation is influenced by the music of at least two previous generations.  

You end up hearing your mom's favorite tracks, which often include the songs her mother loved. If you're passionate about music, you might even dig deeper and explore the roots of those sounds. Growing up in an era filled with distinctive singers has shaped my music appreciation. Nowadays, many artists strive to emulate those iconic figures but fail because they fail to realize the ingredients, they had that made them stand out was their uniqueness. You could easily identify them on the radio, even if you hadn't heard the song before. Girl, you are preaching! That's what I'm saying!  

You know what I'm saying? But your voice is unique, and I love it! I stopped and listened when I heard your voice because it's rich, soulful, and uniquely you. It reminds me of the music I grew up listening to—real grown folks' soul music. That's what drew me to your voice. I said, "Finally! Here's somebody I can vibe within today's generation." Thank you! I'm so happy you feel the same way I do. 

Yes, your voice, Ms. Acantha, truly got my attention. 

Thank you, Gina. 

You're welcome. You deserve every single opportunity and blessing that comes your way because you are amazing. Ah, thank you! 

You're welcome! You've been compared to Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight, which is a huge compliment. How does it feel to be compared to such amazing, unique artists? It's the ultimate honor and compliment because they're great artists. Soul music is important to many people, especially to Black people, because we were its pioneers. As culture moves on, with AI and bedroom producers, I feel like we're getting farther away from what music used to be—real people playing instruments, real singers telling stories. 

I'm so grateful that my career started with singing the blues. At the time, everyone else was doing R&B. Even though I was meeting with R&B producers, something just didn't feel right for me. So, while artists like Alicia Keys and Destiny's Child came out with R&B hits, I sang 12-bar blues. 

I'm so happy I got my start there because I learned how to use the tone and richness of my voice, take my time with space between notes, and tell a story. Those are the things I learned from the blues, and I think you can hear that in my music. Everything comes from the blues—soul music, rock 'n' roll, and more. 

What made artists like Aretha Franklin so great was their storytelling, and they used their voices to pour their souls into the music. I feel like we're losing that. I want to make sure that legacy continues. 

When I put a band together, I say, "We're going to play live, baby!" We will sing and tell those stories like the old-school singers did. People are hungry for it—they want it, but they don't always know where to find it because so much of what's out there feels the same. I call it "McDonald's music." But when they get a taste of something real, they're like, "Oh! I didn't know this steak was so good!" 

Absolutely! Speaking of following in the footsteps of great artists, you recently released a single, Grandma's Hands, which is an incredible song. You've done such an amazing job with it. Can you tell me how that came about and what the song means to you? A friend of mine introduced me to Merry Clayton’s version of Grandma’s Hands.  I don't know if you've heard it, but it's sassy. When I heard it, I was like, "Oh, this is good!" I'd never heard it sung like that before, and I love Merry Clayton.  

I don't know if you've heard it, but it's really sassy. When I heard it, I was like, "Oh, this is good!" I'd never heard it sung like that before, and I love Mary Clayton. 

So, I started performing that version in my live shows. Then my partner, who's my guitarist, suggested we funk it up a bit. We created a funkier version of Grandma's Hands, and people loved it! 

Someone who saw us perform was friends with Craig Charles, who plays a lot of my music. He said, "Craig loves that song; you should record it." So, we went into the studio and recorded it. That song has opened so many doors for us. We even got on Trevor Nelson's show on BBC Radio 2 with Grandma's Hands, and people are really loving it. 

Acantha, congratulations on all your success! Your voice demands attention, so I'm not surprised that Grandma's Hands has been such a hit. Where can people find the song? And do you have anything new you're working on that you can share with your fans? Thank you! My album, Beautiful Dreams, came out last year, and it's available everywhere on streaming platforms, vinyl and CD. You can visit my website, www.acanthalang.com, or check my social media for more details. Grandma's Hands is available on all streaming platforms, including YouTube. I'm working on a lyric video for it, too. 

As for upcoming projects, I'm recording two original Christmas songs that will be available exclusively on CD and for download, not on streaming platforms until Christmas 2025. One is a funk track, and the other is a feel-good soul record. I also recently did a live session with my band in Birmingham using the latest virtual reality technology. I don't have a release date yet, but it's coming soon. I'm also writing my second album, which is an important part of my journey as an artist. 

That sounds amazing! Acantha, you are lovely. Thank you so much for talking with me today. You're such a breath of fresh air and an incredible talent. Before we wrap up, can you share some words of wisdom for up-and-coming artists? Of course! Being an independent artist or finding yourself is a fascinating journey that takes time. Give yourself time—nothing happens overnight, and it shouldn't. 

There's so much to learn and so much room to grow. All the experiences I've had along the way have contributed to the artist you see on stage today, and that took time. There were moments when I felt like I couldn't make it work and was really down, but I kept going. 

Whenever a door closed, I told myself, "Okay, that wasn't for me." I listened to my gut. There were a few record deal offers that I chose not to take because I didn't feel the music in my heart. I didn't want to be just another singer on a big label. 

So, trust your gut, take your time, and develop your craft. Learn who you are, understand the business and network, and be kind. Your reputation and your network are going to be crucial to your success. Stay in the moment, give yourself time, and remember—it won't happen overnight. 

That's so beautiful, and you are lovely! Your sound is incredible, and it's been an absolute honor to hear about your journey. My prayer for you is that God blesses the work of your hands according to His will. May He bring trustworthy, supportive, and wonderful people into your life. 

I want you to know that I am so proud of everything you've achieved as an artist and as a woman of color. I can't wait to see what amazing things are in store for you. Thank you, Gina. 

You're welcome. Bye, Acantha! Bye, Gina.