It’s hard to imagine better weather for the second weekend of Wireless. Across the three-day event in Finsbury Park, the sun shines, glows, and sets in Instagrammable colours. Revellers carry miniature fans but otherwise remain unphased by the scorching temperatures, chuffed that their festival outfits are, for once, actually weather appropriate.
By the time R&B singer-songwriter Givēon takes the stage on day one, the mercury has mercifully dipped. The soft glow glinting on the string of pearls around his neck is a fortuitous call back to the musician’s southern Californian roots. Since supplying the vocals for Drake’s 2020 track “Chicago Freestyle”, Givēon has become a new name-to-know... at least in the US. Tonight’s crowd appears less aware of the musician’s rising stardom. Still, they’re happy to come along for the ride, most not knowing sufficient lyrics to sing along to his honeyed baritone, choosing instead to sway enthusiastically side to side. When Givēon does perform his lulled verse of “Chicago Freestyle”, the chorus kicks in. Even more so when he follows it up with his sunshine-ready cameo on Justin Bieber’s stoner-pop hit “Peaches”.
