Common Kings | UNLEASHED

The musicians in Common Kings met as students at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, California, and bonded over their Hawaiian and South Pacific roots. “We just started jamming at the house and realized, ‘Wow, you guys are pretty good. We should start a band!’ ” said Ivan Kirimaua on the show. Spending their early days as a nameless cover band on the college circuit, they began recording music as Common Kings in 2011, and the rest is history.

The name Common Kings reflects the fact that all members hail from royal bloodlines on the islands of Fiji, Hawaii, Samoa, and Tonga. In terms of influences, Common Kings combine elements of rock, reggae, and R&B into upbeat pop songs with a distinct island vibe. To no surprise, the band first broke through away from the mainland. “Hawaii really put us on the map! Then we toured all the islands and did the whole North America run,” said Sasualei Maliga.

The band’s first EPs reached the top ten on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart in 2013. One year later Common Kings had their big break supporting Justin Timberlake’s ‘The 20/20 Experience World Tour’ across Australia and New Zealand. In 2017, the Grammy-nominated album ‘Lost in Paradise’ solidified the band’s success.

After a short pandemic hiatus, Common Kings are back to live stages and most recently played Cali Roots festival. “There's just something different about live music. It connects to people way differently on a whole spiritual level. And you can tell that everyone was missing it!” said Jerome Taito. In July, Common Kings will hit the road with artists Pepper and Slightly Stoopid playing gigs in Idaho, Arizona, Oregon, and California. Also stay tuned for a new 22-song album dropping in late 2022.