New Orleans born, London based soul artist Acantha Lang is one of the distinctive voices in contemporary soul, bringing together powerhouse vocals, deeply personal storytelling and funk driven grooves steeped in the richness of her Southern roots. Drawing comparisons to legends including Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight, Lang has built an international following while remaining fiercely independent, earning acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic for music that honours the foundations of classic soul while speaking unmistakably to the present.

Her acclaimed debut album, Beautiful Dreams, reached #3 on the Official UK Jazz & Blues Albums Chart and #14 on the Official UK Independent Album Breakers Chart, receiving 5 star reviews from both Echoes and France’s Soul Bag. She has graced the covers of Blues & Soul and Echoes, with further recognition from Relix, American Songwriter, KCRW and SoulTracks, who named Beautiful Dreams Album of the Month and hailed Lang as “one of the most exciting soul singers in the world.” BBC Radio 6 Music’s Craig Charles has been equally emphatic, calling her “brilliant… destined for world domination.”

Lang’s path to soul music was anything but conventional. Unlike many singers raised in the Southern soul tradition, she did not discover her voice in church. It was in New York City that she found her musical community, performing alongside some of the city’s finest R&B musicians at the iconic Harlem Grill, a neighbourhood institution frequented by artists including Stevie Wonder and Alicia Keys. Her popular Monday Night Blues residency became an invaluable musical education, allowing her to develop the commanding live presence that would later become a hallmark of her performances.

After nearly three years at the Harlem Grill, Lang was recruited as the first female MC at Manhattan’s renowned cabaret, The Box. That opportunity eventually brought her to London to help open its UK counterpart. There, she formed her own band and began writing the songs that would shape her career, drawing on the sounds she grew up around in New Orleans and combining the grit and storytelling of Southern soul with the deep grooves of Memphis institutions like Stax and Royal Studios.

Her debut EP, Sugar Woman, arrived in 2021 to widespread acclaim and earned Lang the SoulTracks Readers’ Choice Award for New Artist of the Year. Her songwriting credentials extend beyond her own catalogue: Lang is a GRAMMY® nominated songwriter, having contributed to Robert Randolph & The Family Band’s GRAMMY® nominated album Got Soul. Her own songs have explored everything from family and the resilience of New Orleans to misinformation and social commentary. “He Said/She Said” was selected by Craig Charles for his Trunk of Funk Vol. 2 compilation, while “Lois Lang,” her tribute to her mother, remains one of the most personal songs in her catalogue.

The release of Beautiful Dreams introduced Lang to an even wider international audience. Her music has now surpassed 8.9 million streams, with placements on major Spotify playlists including All Funked Up, Best Retro Songs and Best Funk Songs. The album’s success also took her to American television for her U.S. TV debut on CBS Saturday Morning, where she performed three songs live.

Since then, Lang has continued to build a formidable reputation on stage, performing at SXSW in Austin and taking her live show throughout the UK, France, the Netherlands, Spain and the Canary Islands, including sold out performances across Europe. In a particularly meaningful connection to the music that has shaped her career, she was invited to appear as a special guest with the Memphis Soul Revue at London’s Barbican, performing alongside the Queen of Memphis Soul Carla Thomas, GRAMMY® winning producer Boo Mitchell and members of Al Green’s legendary band.

Lang has also earned extensive radio support across the UK. BBC Radio 6 Music’s Craig Charles has championed her music, while BBC Radio 2’s Trevor Nelson named her among his Top Tunes of 2024. Her reimagining of the Bill Withers classic “Grandma’s Hands” was named Jazz FM’s Breakfast Show Record of the Week and went on to the station’s A List, further establishing Lang as an artist capable of honouring soul’s history without simply recreating it.

That connection between past and present is also at the heart of Lang’s Standing On The Shoulders Of… series, in which she reimagines songs by some of the artists who laid the foundations for soul music. The series has amassed more than 16 million views, while her interpretation of Nina Simone’s “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free” went on to soundtrack a McDonald’s television campaign across Europe. In recognition of her work as an artist and songwriter, Lang was invited to join the Recording Academy’s 2022 member class.

Now, Lang is turning her attention toward her second studio album, currently in production and scheduled for release in 2027. Building on the foundations of Beautiful Dreams, the new record pushes further into original soul and funk while expanding her sonic palette with live horns and strings. Its songs explore grief, family, mental health and social commentary alongside the resilience and emotional honesty that have always been central to her writing.

With millions of streams, international touring, major radio support and a growing body of work behind her, Acantha Lang is building a catalogue and career rooted in the traditions of soul while carving out a space entirely her own.

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