Simply Red - Summer Funk 27

Summer Funk 27 is an open-air concert at Gunnersbury Park in London, bringing together Simply Red, Lisa Stansfield and Soul II Soul under a shared soul, funk and R&B bill.

Simply Red is a British soul and pop band formed in Chesham in the early 1980s around the singer Mick Hucknall, whose warm, blues-tinged vocals have defined the group's sound. Their best-known songs include Holding Back the Years and Stars, and their albums drew on soul, jazz and pop. The band has been an established presence on the British festival and arena circuit for decades.

Lisa Stansfield, also from the United Kingdom, rose to prominence with the soul-pop hit All Around the World and the album Affection, while Soul II Soul, the London collective led by Jazzie B, helped shape British club soul and rhythm-driven R&B with the single Back to Life. Together the three acts map a line from British soul and dance-influenced R&B to the wider funk and reggae traditions named in the genre.

The bill suits listeners who know these acts from their recordings and want to hear them in the open air. Gunnersbury Park is a public park in west London, and the concert takes place within its grounds.