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”.
Sublime is one of my favorite bands of all time. Sadly I did not get to see the original band but Sublime with Rome. Rome was wonderful and made the concert live greatly up to my expectations. The band was amazing, and the concert was high energy, although the audience was very laid back. ;) They not only played the hits, but other songs as well. I had a blast during the concert, did a lot of dancing, the music was great, and I think Rome did a great job replacing Bradley. The venue of the show was wonderful, and the experience was up close and personal for the most part. The atmosphere and crowd were amazing and everyone had a great time. That night was unforgettable. If you are unsure about seeing Sublime because of Rome, DO NOT HESITATE. The show will be amazing and keep you dancing all night long. Rome sure can sing and strum a guitar. All the songs I wanted to hear were played! Not only was Sublime great but the opening act was a ton of fun and very talented too. I had a wonderful time at this concert, and I will definitely recommend it to everyone. Hopefully I will be able to see them again some day.
The Common Kings concert was AMAZING!!! The show was tremendous I would most definitely go see them again! they kept the crowd movin'! Only thing is I'd rather go to a 21+ show, the crowd was different in Portland, OR.
Keep it reggae!
Great band, tight live show, pretty damn dynamic for a 3-piece. All three players are really active up there (musically speaking, nobody's doin backflips on stage) and clearly have a love for playing. You can tell they're road warriors. Go see 'em and buy 'em a beer. This is drinking reggae rock.