Live at Idalia: Grammy-nominated soul singer Acantha Lang to headline live music revival

Grammy-nominated soul singer Acantha Lang will open a month of live music at a 140-year-old Olympia hall that once hosted Vivienne Westwood’s first catwalk show.

The New Orleans-born, London-based artist will perform at Pillar Hall in west London on Friday November 6, launching Live at Idalia, a new programme of soul, jazz and R&B.

Lang, who has been compared to Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight, will play a stripped-back set of original songs and reimagined soul classics.

She earned her Grammy nomination as a songwriter, penning a track on Robert Randolph and The Family Band’s Grammy-nominated album Got Soul.

Her debut album, Beautiful Dreams, reached number three on the Official UK Jazz and Blues Albums Chart, and she has won support from BBC Radio 2, BBC 6 Music and Jazz FM.

Jools Holland is among her fans, once telling her: “I love your voice.”

Her performance comes as live music returns to Olympia, where Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd played in 1967, followed by Rod Stewart in 1977 and The Cure in 1992.

Pillar Hall, a Grade II*-listed Victorian building, first opened in 1886 as a venue for concerts, balls and exhibitions, and later hosted one of Britain’s earliest film screenings.

In 1981, it was the setting for Westwood’s “Pirate” collection, her first ever catwalk show.

The hall reopened in March as the first hospitality venue within Olympia’s £1.3 billion regeneration, led by restaurateur Des Gunewardena’s D3 Collective.

The November programme continues with Los Angeles-born vocalist Selina Albright on November 7 and London jazz singer and pianist Jordan Jackson on November 13.

Manchester singer Lusaint, whose viral covers of Don’t Let Go and Wicked Game brought her international attention, headlines on November 14. Organisers say she has amassed more than 250 million streams.

Performances take place in Idalia, the hall’s restaurant, from 7.30pm. Selected late sets continue at Pepperbird, a hidden basement speakeasy inspired by Olympia’s 1960s and 1970s heyday, from 9.30pm.

Bookings are via pillarhall.co.uk.