After a successful first run last summer, Common People has doubled in size (branching out too to Oxford’s South Park in addition to the Southampton Common festivities) and is now little more than one week away. Timed perfectly to celebrate the end of exams (or even life at university altogether), the festival looks set to be a Bank Holiday weekend of sun-kissed delight, headlined by Duran Duran and the long-awaited homecoming of Craig David. Here, we’ve dug a little deeper into the lineup to highlight some of the acts we at The Edge are most excited to watch on the Common next weekend.
99 Souls
The latest in the slew of production outfits keeping themselves largely anonymous to encourage listeners to focus on the music, British duo 99 Souls reached number 5 in the Official Charts at the beginning of the year with debut single ‘The Girl Is Mine.’ Featuring Destiny’s Child and a specially re-recorded vocal from Brandy, the bubbly house track followed similarly delightful remixes for the likes of Martin Solveig, Snakehips, and Blonde. They share the Big Top with David Rodigan’s Ram Jam crew on Sunday.
Lady Leshurr
A very recent addition to the Common People lineup, Lady Leshurr stormed to attention during 2015 as her five-part ‘Queen’s Speech’ series of freestyles racked up over 60 million views on YouTube. Performing feel-good grime with her distinctive Birmingham accent, even Tom Jones is a fan of her tooth-brushing anthems. Catch her on the Common Stage on Saturday.
Katy B
After claiming an inaugural number 1 album in 2014 with Little Red, Katy B returned to the studio with a rich cohort of production talent for Honey, a portfolio rich in variety in order to ably exhibit her underground dance roots. Its lead single ‘Who Am I,’ which featured Major Lazer on production and fellow Common People performer Craig David, and chart-topping KDA collaboration ‘Turn The Music Louder (Rumble)’ are sure to take the spotlight on the Common Stage on Sunday.
The Wytches
Each location’s Uncommon Stage will host a horde of local, upcoming talent, curated by a local music institution. After an unfortunate cancellation from Palma Violets, The Joiners’ lineup on the Sunday is now to be spearheaded by Brighton trio The Wytches. Their semi-psychedelic sound joins with the likes of Lonely The Brave, Pretty Vicious, and a selection of victors from the ‘I Want To Be At Common People’ contest series – Faux, Reventure, Uhuru, and Arid Wave – on the festival’s alternative stage.
The Chuckle Brothers
Does it get any better than this? Rotherham’s inimitable Barry and Paul Elliott have been entertaining fans of all ages for almost 50 years, including a 22-year run of their BBC series ChuckleVision. In 2014, they collaborated with Tinchy Stryder for ‘To Me, To You (Bruv),’ a charity single that raised funds for ACLT, and made their festival bow at Bestival last September. They take to the stage in Southampton on Saturday.
Common People takes place in Southampton and Oxford on May 28th and 29th. For more information, check out our full preview.
