Curtis Harding

Versatile vocalist Curtis Harding blends the fervor of vintage soul and R&B with the raw edge of indie rock and the restless bite of garage punk, building a following across both rock and R&B audiences. His songwriting matches his vocal power, exploring personal emotional depths while threading in a quiet yet persistent awareness of broader social currents. Harding announced himself with the 2014 release Soul Power, brought greater polish to the 2017 effort Face Your Fear, and wove psychedelia into the mix on 2021’s If Words Were Flowers.

Raised in Saginaw, Michigan, Curtis Harding first encountered live performance through his mother Dorothy, a gospel singer who took him along on tour and sometimes invited him onstage to join her. He later made his home in Atlanta, Georgia, where his intense, commanding delivery attracted key supporters. His voice featured on various OutKast remixes, and he joined Cee Lo Green’s circle as a touring backup singer, contributed tracks to the albums Cee-Lo Green & His Perfect Imperfections and The Lady Killer, and co-wrote songs with Green. In 2011, however, Harding entered a different realm after meeting Cole Alexander, guitarist for Georgia garage punks the Black Lips; the two shared a deep interest in classic Southern soul. They formed the side project Night Sun, merging R&B with garage rock, and after several local performances the group issued a 2013 single on Burger Records. Impressed by Harding’s voice, the label offered him a solo deal, resulting in the 2014 full-length Soul Power. The album drew strong praise and led to a new arrangement with the independent imprint Anti-.

Extensive touring followed the release, including support dates for Lenny Kravitz and Jack White. Face Your Fear reached number 21 on the Heatseekers chart and appeared on listings in France, Belgium, and Switzerland. In 2019 Harding started composing songs for a third album while dividing time between Atlanta and Los Angeles; when the COVID-19 pandemic halted much of the music business in 2020, he used the pause to sharpen the material, aiming to echo the era without addressing its immediate crises. Those songs surfaced on If Words Were Flowers, which arrived in November 2021.