Formed in 2010, The Common Kings’ membership is comprised of guitarist Taumata Grey, lead singer JR King, bassist Lui Kirimaua, and drummer Jerome Taito. Heavily rooted in the sounds and culture of Hawaii, Fiji, Samoa, and Tongo, The Common Kings met in Costa Mesa, California, where they began collaborating and combined their mutual and diverging interests. Beginning in 2011 the band started releasing pop-leaning reggae singles, which favourably highlighted the laid-back yet upbeat nature of the band’s output.
The Common Kings’ debut single, “Fly”, was released in May 2011 with a strong R&B/soul influence. Reggae beats and rhythms were found for the subsequent single “Alcohol”, nonetheless the likeable and spirited vocals of JR King remained. A pair of singles followed in 2012, “Wade in Your Water” and “No Other Love” featuring J-Boog and Fiji. Independently released and self-produced, the singles boast high-production value, with a the releases earning radio play in pockets around the U.S.
Following a collaboration with Jay Keyz on his single “This Songs About You”, Common Kings released their debut EP “#Weontour”. Spawning the subsequent single “Idgaf”, the record introduced the band to a sizeable new audience outside of California. A second EP followed shortly afterwards entitled “Summer Anthems”, which produced the single “Sickness (Acoustic Single)”. 2014 brought a string of new singles for the refined group, including “Your Turn”, “Kingdom Come”, and “Before You Go”, following which the band became the first support act on the American vocal group Fifth Harmony’s “The Reflection Tour”.
Californian rock outfit Sublime split opinion when it comes to their music due to the controversial manner of their lyrical content. Originally breaking up in the late 90s after lead singer Bradley Nowell died of a heroin overdose, the group now tour under the pseudonym Sublime with Rome after enlisting the help of vocalist and guitarist Rome Ramirez.
This group went on to have Billboard success with their original album 'Yours Truly' yet tonight's setlist is mainly focused on Sublime's original three albums. The crowd is enthusiastic and energetic and this is matched well by Rome's frontman style as he whips them into more of a frenzy for favourites including 'Santeria' and 'Doing Time'. The tongue in cheek lyrical stylings of 'Date Rape' are still rather cringe worthy even two decades later yet the majority of the crowds seems to enjoy singing and dancing along. It is fair to say Sublime were never known for lyrical intelligence however if this is your sort of thing, you won't be disappointed as the instrumentals are on point and all the 'classics' are played.