Lewis Capaldi Hyde Park Review
Well, I may have lied in our review of Mumford & Sons heading performance last Saturday (read HERE) and It’s like being the subject of the viral “Another one?” clip as for the third Saturday running I found myself in the glorious sunshine at American Express presents BST Hyde Park.
Last weekend was the final planned trip to the Royal Park in W2 but a combination of Stratford station being closed due to a fire preventing my cricket trip to Hadleigh in Suffolk, Ian having some last minute childcare commitments and the FOMO from what I saw on social media of everyone having the night of their lives and breaking a Guinness World Record last night as Pitbull played to the largest ever crowd this festival has ever welcomed, meant I was able to try to answer Noel Gallagher’s question of “Who’s this Capaldi fella?”
We saw this charming young Mr Lewis Capaldi join Noah Kahan on stage last summer in Hyde Park and having performed on the daytime stage in Glasgow in 2017, the Glaswegian is the TENTH C2C: Country to Country alumni to play this year’s festival although the other nine were all on the bill with Garth Brooks two weeks ago!
Last weekend was the final planned trip to the Royal Park in W2 but a combination of Stratford station being closed due to a fire preventing my cricket trip to Hadleigh in Suffolk, Ian having some last minute childcare commitments and the FOMO from what I saw on social media of everyone having the night of their lives and breaking a Guinness World Record last night as Pitbull played to the largest ever crowd this festival has ever welcomed, meant I was able to try to answer Noel Gallagher’s question of “Who’s this Capaldi fella?”
We saw this charming young Mr Lewis Capaldi join Noah Kahan on stage last summer in Hyde Park and having performed on the daytime stage in Glasgow in 2017, the Glaswegian is the TENTH C2C: Country to Country alumni to play this year’s festival although the other nine were all on the bill with Garth Brooks two weeks ago!
Credit: Connor Baker
It was obviously an interesting day for a proud Scot to play in the English capital in front of over sixty thousand people when Harry Kane and the boys were due to engage in a dance with the Targaryen dragon in Miami shortly before his set finished. Whilst he opened up with “Hollywood” and asked Hyde Park “How the fuck are you doing?” the audience left with dreams of a date in New Jersey still on the cards.
His entry wearing a black long-sleeved jacket was much less divisive than when he emerged wearing a Chelsea shirt twelve months ago but quickly justified why he was the only act to be booked to headline multiple nights at this year’s festival. The beauty of his ballad heavy set which the entire crowd were there to sing along to from start to finish was how fitting and uncomplicated his setup was. He just let the songs and his adoring crowd do the work which was perfectly clear how much he appreciated it.
Beyond the songs and the voice, what makes him so magical as a live performer is how like Luke Combs or Chris Stapleton, he is very anti-establishment and in the same way that is what people adore adore about him. When the photographers left the pit he joked about the colour of his trousers as he walked on stage (which he later reaffirmed what was spelt if you rearranged the first letters of “Something In The Heavens”) to play to over sixty thousand people and this raw, unhinged chat and banter is exactly why people are drawn to him. He is the entertainer that shouldn’t have been as it is not uptempo bangers throughout like Pitbull who played the night before and he referenced on stage many times, but he captivates and ignites an audience in such a powerful way.
His entry wearing a black long-sleeved jacket was much less divisive than when he emerged wearing a Chelsea shirt twelve months ago but quickly justified why he was the only act to be booked to headline multiple nights at this year’s festival. The beauty of his ballad heavy set which the entire crowd were there to sing along to from start to finish was how fitting and uncomplicated his setup was. He just let the songs and his adoring crowd do the work which was perfectly clear how much he appreciated it.
Beyond the songs and the voice, what makes him so magical as a live performer is how like Luke Combs or Chris Stapleton, he is very anti-establishment and in the same way that is what people adore adore about him. When the photographers left the pit he joked about the colour of his trousers as he walked on stage (which he later reaffirmed what was spelt if you rearranged the first letters of “Something In The Heavens”) to play to over sixty thousand people and this raw, unhinged chat and banter is exactly why people are drawn to him. He is the entertainer that shouldn’t have been as it is not uptempo bangers throughout like Pitbull who played the night before and he referenced on stage many times, but he captivates and ignites an audience in such a powerful way.
Credit: Connor Baker
Sam Fender would emerge to special guest as a duet partner and his encore would begin with his rendition of CCR’s “Have You Ever Seen The Rain” before the inevitable acoustic crowd singalong of “Someone You Loved” closed an unforgettable night supplemented by some fireworks to conclude such a memorable night.
Moving away from Lewis himself, earlier in the day, I was able to gain a long overdue first opportunity to see The Vaccines and the Justin Hayward-Young fronted west London collective did not disappoint. These guys have been one of the biggest acts on the festival circuit for over fifteen years and it is clear to see why after seeing their uptempo and rocking forty-five minute set on the Great Oak Stage as it is the indie rock and roll which fuels the core of the British music scene at its absolute best.
Moving away from Lewis himself, earlier in the day, I was able to gain a long overdue first opportunity to see The Vaccines and the Justin Hayward-Young fronted west London collective did not disappoint. These guys have been one of the biggest acts on the festival circuit for over fifteen years and it is clear to see why after seeing their uptempo and rocking forty-five minute set on the Great Oak Stage as it is the indie rock and roll which fuels the core of the British music scene at its absolute best.
Credit: Thomas Falcone
As much as I intended for seeing Shania Twain join Marcus Mumford on stage to sing “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” to be the climax to this year’s festivities in Hyde Park, there was just that thing that drew me back. As my previous reviews from this year have stressed, this is such a wonderful event which yes, is massively convenient as a west London resident but the site never changes because it works so well, it is so well curated and the team behind it are incredible. The capacity will increase in twelve months time and we can’t wait to be back within even bigger crowds next year for three of the best weeks of the summer once more and as to “Who’s this Capaldi fella?” well, he’s really, really good!
American Express presents BST Hyde Park will return in 2027 where you will be able to find full details on their WEBSITE and you can relive this year’s festival on INSTAGRAM TIKTOK & FACEBOOK.
American Express presents BST Hyde Park will return in 2027 where you will be able to find full details on their WEBSITE and you can relive this year’s festival on INSTAGRAM TIKTOK & FACEBOOK.