East Devon Soul

East Devon Soul Festival will support, nurture, enlivening and reawaken the music scene in East Devon, UK, utilising the underrepresented town of Seaton, snuck between those classic holiday destination, Lyme Regis and Sidmouth. Music is vibrant in these two places, central to their cultural and tourist economy. Seaton is a beautiful brutalist place, the concrete wall protecting the town from the ravages of the sea, a wide open expanse with white and red stone cliffs on either side, a perfect crescent, half moon, curvacious place. Seaton has lots of venues, all currently utilised to recreate school discos or house another covers band mainly full of blokes. East Devon Soul aims to bring global music beats from around the world to the southern shores, a Womadian aim to educate and glamourise, provide multi-ethnic culture to this mainly white populace. Bands featuring the music of Africa, South America, Europe, Australasia and Asia. Interesting electronic beats. New sounds, interesting instruments. East Devon Soul sees the heartfelt, music coming from within the self and collaborative cultures. A chance to dance and listen, to be transported, to be educated, to be entertained and join in with that process. 

Plans are afoot for a big event in 2026, the East Devon Soul Festival. Venues across the town such as The Gateway Theatre, the Tramway and the Old Picturehouse will house artists within global, soul, funk, electronic and jazz genres, crossing divides, entertaining and educating. Early July will see people flock to Seaton, dancing on the beach, by the beach, looking at the beach. Devon’s answer to Cafe del Mar, evening summer raves, a quick dip after a sweaty dance.

This year we are bringing acts such as the Cuban Buena Bristol Social Club, Omega Nebula firing dub and step, Fulu with their hidden personas, brass and techno in joyous combination, the amazing soulful Hannah and the Affirmations, as sampled by Jay-Z, to the live drum and bass of Doctor Meaker. Cuban heavyweights Asere will fire into the region at the start of Novembr. Music ecosystems enlivened by adding to the mix, adding variables to support cultural expansion in this naturally beautiful place.

Information about the East Devon Soul Festival will be coming to your eyes and ears soon. July 2026. Great value. Great acts. Great fun

East Devon Soul

Red Alerts were sirening off all over the west of the country as Storm Darragh battered the bruised country into further submission. Luckily humans are hardy and the first event for our new organisation east Devon Soul went off. It was great to see such a lovely eclectic bunch of people enjoying Grammy nominated Acantha Lang at the Marine Theatre, a last minute change from the embattled Seaton Gateway. It was a beautiful night and we at East Devon Soul will be running many more events over the next few years. We see soul music as all music that comes from the soul. So it will be hip hop, funk, latin, jazz, pop, rock, jungle, electronic dance and of course soul. We are also planning a big event in July 2026 so news will be passed around when details have been defined through the first part of next year.

We are really looking forward to developing music in and around East Devon, providing high quality music for all.

East Devon Soul

Acantha Lang at the Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis

Introducing Grammy nominated Acantha Lang

New Orleans soul singer Acantha Lang is performing at the Marine Theatre Lyme Regis Dorset on Friday 6th December, supported by two top Funk and Soul DJ’s. It’s an unbelievable coup for the town and area so here is some info about Acantha

https://www.instagram.com/acanthalang/

“Acantha Lang … I love your voice!”

Jools Holland

“She’s brilliant … destined for world domination.”

The Craig Charles Funk & Soul Show, BBC 6Music

New Orleans-born (London-based) rising Soul artist Acantha Lang has been compared to legends Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight. Her acclaimed debut album ‘Beautiful Dreams,’ released in 2023, charted at #3 on The Official UK Jazz & Blues Albums Chart, garnering critical praise and rave reviews with 5-star ratings in Echoes Magazine and Soul Bag Magazine (France). Acantha graced the covers of the iconic Blues & Soul and Echoes Magazines and received Album of the Month honours from Soul Tracks, Relix, American Songwriter, KCRW’s ‘Top Tune,’ and more. Tastemaker Craig Charles (BBC 6Music’s Funk & Soul Show) notes: “She’s brilliant…destined for world domination.”

Lang has also been captivating audiences globally, making her US TV debut on CBS Saturday Morning and performing at the prestigious 2024 SXSW Music Festival in Austin, Texas, major venues in Spain and the UK, and renowned clubs like Bizz’Art (Paris, France) and Melkweg (Netherlands). In April 2024, she was a featured artist at The Dew Drop in New Orleans and performed alongside The New Mastersounds at The House of Blues and Blue Nile as part of the BACKBEAT Jazz Fest series during New Orleans Jazz Fest weekend where she met new fans like Anderson.Paak. She was also invited as a special guest for Jon Cleary at his sold-out show at the renowned Jazz Cafe in London.

Lang’s songwriting prowess was recognized before her solo career, crafting tracks for the GRAMMY-nominated Robert Randolph & The Family Band. Her debut EP, ‘Sugar Woman,’ earned her critical acclaim and the 2021 Soul Tracks Readers’ Choice Award for New Artist of the Year. She was also accepted into the Recording Academy’s (Grammy) 2022 member class.

Currently writing album #2 with further US and European touring to come off the back of a string of sold-out recent shows in Spain, this GRAMMY-nominated songwriter has established a dedicated legion of fans with her 13m+ viewed “Standing On The Shoulders Of” soul series.

With over 3 million streams and placements on top Spotify playlists like All Funked Up, Best Retro Songs, and Best Funk Songs of 2023, Lang’s music is resonating with a global audience. Radio support in the UK (BBC 6Music’s Funk & Soul Show) and the US (KCRW’s Top Tune of the Day) further solidifies her rising star status. Her most recently released single was a re-imagined funk cover of Bill Withers’ ‘Grandma’s Hands’, that was named Jazz FM’s Breakfast Show record of the week, added to the A List, plus also got love from esteemed DJ Trevor Nelson on BBC Radio 2. Acantha is currently preparing to return to the studio to write her sophomore album, slated for 2025

6.12.24. Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis

Must you Create a Legacy Instead of Just Existing

Why can’t I just sit at home and exist. What drives me to make some sort of mark on the world, create a lasting legacy, be constantly active, a diary full for months in advance, no time just to sit around and think. It always seems to be the way, agreeing to things without really first engaging the brain. A desire to do stuff, to be helpful, to explore ideas and put on events. Why can’t I just say no or keep my powder dry. Surely it would be easier just to sit on the side-lines, let other people run events but maybe that’s my nature of being an artist. One of the organisers. I’m not even sure it is one of my strengths. Well actually wooing is, so getting people to do stuff, to work with people, help, facilitate, be the natural number two. Peter Taylor to your Brian Clough. There is nowhere to go after over promising. You have put an idea into some else’s head and to stand and deliver. Or else try and back down gracefully without losing face or reputation. Keeping your mouth shut, thinking about things before promising. Review the logistics, the costs, the possible scenarios that could unfold in your head. It’s generally better to under promise, set expectations at a base level so you can gradually work up, surprise people, start to reveal the full extent of what you hope to achieve. Or don’t even say anything, keep your powder dry, have thoughts running around in your head that can stay there, under control, a multitude of concepts swirling within the brains matter. Is it a need to be liked, an area of conversation or just a desire to collaborate, support projects. By saying something it means you really have to deliver, it puts the concept out in the open. Surely this can be a good thing though as it counters inertia. Provides the possibility of creating something great, making a change, a mark on the world that delivers happiness to yourself and others once you have battled through the stress of putting the event on. If you don’t go out there and put your head on the line then you are not a competitor. You are someone happy on the side-lines, which is fine. Some people need to be the creators, innovators, those who push things forward and support a change in the world. Over promising is their reality. Realising dreams. Is there any point in any of this though. I mean we all shift off this mortal coil. Famous people are dying all over the place. Geoff Capes, iconic strongman of early TV. Seemed like a lovely bloke. He will be remembered. DJ’s Janice Long and John Peel, an anarchic Top of the Pops double act, laughing, joking, no longer here. A young guy from pop reality stars One Direction, plummets to his death from an Argentine balcony. Going in one direction, down. Quite youthful world cycling megalith Sir Chris Hoy, terminal cancer. All that healthy exercise and being superfit leading to inevitable doom. Maybe he should have just sat around smoking fags. Same result. You see people heading off for their daily jog or skulking around corners with rollies dangling from their mouth. Which one are you, what path do you choose. Lady Di. Princess of the people, changing the world, battered in a Parisian underpass alongside son of rapist, Dodi Al Fayed. He should have been the one in the car. Justice. If there was equity and fairness in the world then all those out exercising, eating healthily, being kind to the planet, one or no car families, care workers, doctors and nurses, nutritionists, musicians, actors, authors, recyclers, councillors, counsellors, cancellers, administrators, supporters, non-hierarchical activists, and famous shot putters should have the longest lives. We should know how long there is. Surely that’s fair. Otherwise, really what is the point. To be remembered? To leave a mark? To have in some way helped to make the world a better place through selfless behaviour? It is within your own heart and soul that this probably needs to occur, by doing stuff, creating events, putting your neck on the line, trying to improve other people’s lives, being proactive and making a difference is probably worthwhile. You might not get a medal but there should be peace of mind, inner comfort, a warm glow emanating from you, understanding that you have maximised your time on earth, nothing has been left undone or unsaid, like riding through the final 10 minutes of a spin class, pushing until the end, warn out but satisfied that nothing else could have been done.

https://open.spotify.com/concert/1ezpzIxWYHttqXE0pcwH7s?si=e178103aa2e14387

Gig poster for Acantha Lang at Seaton Gateway Theatre, East Devon. Friday 6th December, 2024