Rising Stars: Meet Stanton Langley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Stanton Langley.

Hi Stanton, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
I first started playing guitar at 5 years old after watching my dad sit in his chair and strum along to the TV. We’d watch CMT and MTV before bed and I just loved all of it- the guitars, the singing, and the overall enthusiasm in those music videos they would play!

I started off as more of a young actor, using the furniture in my house as a stage to climb up and jump off of while I pretended to sing Keith Urban or Brad Paisley songs. One night, my dad came downstairs with an electric guitar and draped it over my small shoulders. I took to the instrument immediately and could play any chord he taught me within seconds. That was the beginning of my life.

Fast forward a few years and I started my first band at 12 years old. We began as a guitar-only duo, as neither of us had the courage to sing in front of people. After enough gigs with no vocals, I knew I had to step it up to be taken seriously. My first time singing in front of a crowd was at the sixth-grade talent show.

We did “Chicken Fried” by Zac Brown Band and I shook so hard I could barely get the words out! It was a pivotal moment, though. Afterward, we formed a four-piece band and played every gig we could find. A few years and about three hundred and fifty shows later we came to Nashville to record at Sienna Studios on Music Row.

It was the most incredible learning experience I’d ever had and truly opened my eyes to the magic of the city. Over time, plans changed. The band grew as friends more than a group, and I wanted to take my career to the highest level I could. I knew the only place to do that was Nashville.

I live here now and am currently recording my first solo project!

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I’ve been given a lot of opportunities and advice from mentors that came up before me, so it’s never felt like too much of a struggle to get to the place I’m in. That being said, when you’re working on something for fifteen years there will be times of doubt.

When you’re younger and just getting started, people talk and you hear mixed reviews about what you’re doing because it’s fresh and you haven’t proven anything to anyone. That shook my confidence as a young teenager but it more so drove me to prove that I was going to do this and make something great out of it.

After high school, most of the issues became more internal. I was raised in country music and really wanted to move my band in that direction, but no one else was interested in that.

I kind of felt like I had been hiding this big part of my identity and by the time I was going to college, I really wanted to make use of it. It all came to a head, eventually but those guys are still some of my best friends!

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a singer-songwriter. I’ve been writing songs since I was ten years old. But, I’m just as much a guitar player. It was my first instrument and is probably what I’ve put the most time into in my life. I’ve always been captivated by the synergy a voice and guitar can create when played by the same person.

It warrants a unique style! Someone who’s gotta play guitar while singing lead will space things out differently and choose different melodies than a person who’s doing one of those things. I really love the duality of that. But the song is what’s most important.

I write three to four times a week and am always looking for something that stands out melodically. I’m probably most proud of the big stage performances I’ve done. I really feel most like myself in front of a big crowd. I think something that sets me apart from a lot of others is the fact that I play my own lead guitar.

I also played almost all the instruments on my new tracks, with the exception being drums. It’s getting more and more common to see session players handling all the instrumentation in a live band and I love that, but I sing with the guitar as much as I do with my voice.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
My advice for making any sort of connection is to be omnipresent! Go out where the music is and where people like you hang out. It’s hard to be motivated sometimes, but it’s really important.

You can be the greatest writer or singer in the world, but if no one knows you then it doesn’t matter. You never know what doors you might open on any given day!

Contact Info:

• Tiktok: @stantonlangleymusic
• Instagram: @stantonlangleymusic
• Youtube: Stanton Langley

Image Credits:
Dylan Basden, Josh Weichman, and Jake Gilbert