Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds return with new album, ‘Wild God’ on August 30th
“I hope the album has the effect on listeners that it’s had on me,” Cave says. “It bursts out of the speaker, and I get swept up with it. It’s a complicated record, but it’s also deeply and joyously infectious. There is never a masterplan when we make a record. The records rather reflect back the emotional state of the writers and musicians who played them. Listening to this, I don’t know, it seems we’re happy.”
Today, they release ‘Long Dark Night’, the third single from the band’s 18th studio album.
This intimate twilight ballad is inspired by the poem ‘Dark Night of the Soul’ by the Spanish 16th-century poet St. John of the Cross. Through its reflective lyrics, the track evokes the poem’s themes of struggle and transcendence.
Cave says, “Long Dark Night is inspired by one of the greatest and most powerful poems of conversion ever written. Ultimately, though, it’s a beautiful country tune. It feels like a sweet companion to the song, Wild God.”
Across ten tracks, the band dance between convention and experimentation, taking left-turns and detours that heighten the rich imagery and emotion in Cave’s soul-stirring narratives.It is the sound of a group emboldened by reconnection and taking flight. There are moments that touch fondly upon the Bad Seeds’ past but they are fleeting, and serve only to imbue the relentless and restless forward motion of the band.
Produced by Cave and Warren Ellis, and mixed by David Fridmann, Cave began writing the album on New Year’s Day 2023. With sessions at Miraval in Provence and Soundtree in London, the Bad Seeds added their unique alchemy, with additional performances from Colin Greenwood (bass) and Luis Almau (nylon string guitar, acoustic guitar).
“Wild God…there’s no fucking around with this record. When it hits, it hits. It lifts you. It moves you. I love that about it.” Nick Cave
‘Wild God’ will be released on Bad Seed in partnership with Play It Again Sam on streaming, CD, and standard and limited edition vinyl. The track listing is as follows:
Song of the Lake
Wild God
Frogs
Joy
Final Rescue Attempt
Conversion
Cinnamon Horses
Long Dark Night
O Wow O Wow (How Wonderful She Is)
As the Waters Cover the Sea
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds are:
Nick Cave Thomas Wydler Martyn Casey Jim Sclavunos
With a line up throughout the day better than many festivals this summer, BST Hyde Park certainly knows how to put on a show.
Kate Nash began the party in style, celebrating her birthday on the same day – she certainly laid good ‘Foundations‘ (excuse the pun) for all the acts which followed.
Shaun Ryder’s Black Grape were on next, and welcomed a large crowd to the Great Oak Stage. Beginning with ‘In The Name of The Father‘ from their iconic It’s Great When You’re Straight album, it’s incredible to still see Ryder & Co still performing to such a high and party atmosphere.
Over on the smaller Birdcage Stage, Davina Michelle showed what a voice she has. With over one million followers on Instagram, she rose to fame after last year’s Hyde Park star P!NK saw her on YouTube covering her hit ‘What About Us‘. Definitely one to watch for the future.
(Photo by Dave Hogan/Hogan Media Shutterstock)
Gaz Coombes followed on the main stage, making reference to England’s Euro 2024 quarter-final match which kicked off at the same time as his set. As well as demonstrating what a strong singer-songwriter he is, he mixed a few classic Supergrass tunes in for good measure, with ‘Moving‘ getting a large part of the crowd on their feet.
Over on the stunning Rainbow Stage, duo Soft Play (formerly known as the iconic Slaves) blew away any clouds from the sky with their short-sharp punk rock. Joking that Robbie Williams asked them to support after stating on Twitter (nee X) that singer Isaac Holman looked like a cross between Robbie himself and Ant McPartlin, they invaded the crowd on multiple occasions, starting their own mini moshpit, playing crowd favourites ‘Sockets‘, ‘The Hunter‘ and of course, ‘Where’s Your Car Debbie‘. One to catch at other festivals this summer if you get chance.
Seal followed, fresh from his appearance the previous night with Andrea Bocelli (our review of that legendary set is available here: https://www.summerfestivalguide.co.uk/reviews/2024/07/08/andrea-bocelli/). As well as his own timeless hits, including ‘Killer‘, ‘Crazy‘ and ‘Kiss From a Rose‘, he admirably covered T-Rex’s ‘20th Century Boy‘.
(Photo by Dave Hogan/Hogan Media Shutterstock)
The crowd were here for one man and one man alone though. Mr Robbie Williams.
He proved why he is one of, if not the best entertainer in the UK after all these years, arriving on stage to a magnificent ‘Let Me Entertain You‘.
Defying his age having recently turned 50, Robbie has clearly been working out, and launched into ‘Land of a Thousand Dances‘, joined by an impressive line up of backing dancers.
After telling the story of his life, from Take That to Glastonbury misadventures, Robbie seamlessly went from ‘Could It Be Magic‘, into a crowd singalong of Oasis classic ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger‘. To ensure other Britpop favourites were not left out, he was joined by Gaz Coombes for a joyful version of their 90’s anthem ‘Alright’, before performing a cover no one knew they needed. Cockney cheeky chap Danny Dyer took over the vocals from Phil Daniels for a cover of Blur’s charming ‘Parklife‘.
(Photo by Dave Hogan/Hogan Media Shutterstock)
Visibly emotional, he declared he is now the happiest he has ever been in his life, thanks to his wife Ayda and his young family positioned on the nearby sound-stage.
Hit after hit followed, with fans enjoying ‘Millenium‘, ‘Kids‘, ‘Feel‘, ‘No Regrets‘ and ‘She’s The One‘, which, as has become part of his repertoire, Robbie serenaded a young Italian lady in the crowd with.
There was only one song Robbie Williams can finish with. The epic anthem ‘Angels‘ which elevated him above many of his peers and demonstrated his ability to write an anthem for the generation closed the evening in style with all of the crowd raising their phone cameras and lights.
Fireworks lit up the sky as the 65,000 strong crowd sung every word in unison.
This is how to perform an entertaining headline show. Nobody does it better.
Despite the heavy rain throughout the day typical of the British summer, spirits remained high on Day 5 of the BST Hyde Park series of concerts.
As host Myleene Klass explained, this was the largest classical concert, not only in Hyde Park, but for the whole of Europe this century.
Andrea Bocelli clearly has a very talented family, with Matteo Bocelli opening proceedings on the main Great Oak Stage.
Playing a mix of classical and contempory songs, Matteo’s voice shone through the clouds, with a mix including ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’, ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’, with his own compositions including the song he wrote for Netflix series ‘Scratch’ – ‘All Because of Love’. A true talent, with the glint of charm from his father in his voice.
(Photo by Dave Hogan/Hogan Media Shutterstock)
Following on from Matteo was Welsh mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins – a true national treasure.
She could well be headlining Hyde Park herself one day, mixing classics from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera, with an unscheduled if beautiful rendition of ‘Singing In The Rain’. Before finishing with Queen’s classic ‘We Are The Champions’, she delighted fans by putting on her Hunter wellies and showcasing a medley of James Bond themes, including ‘Writings on the Wall’, ‘We Have All the Time in the World’, ‘You Only Live Twice’, ‘Nobody Does It Better’, ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ and of course, Adele’s ‘Skyfall’. Not many people could cover the latter and improve on the original, but Katherine’s voice is truly spectacular.
Again, there are few people who could follow Katherine, but of course, the tenor Andrea Bocelli managed it with his incredible voice, charm and wit.
(Photo by Dave Hogan/Hogan Media Shutterstock)
Celebrating over 30 years in music, Andrea was joined by very special guests throughout his two hour performance, all backed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Crouch End Festival Chorus.
The first half comprised classical and operatic pieces, beginning with ‘La donna e mobile’ – before Andrea continued to demonstrate what a talented family he has, with his daughter Virginia joining him on the huge stage, without any sign of nerves despite being only 12 years old.
Throughout the second half of the set, Andrea was joined by more very special guests, including Zucchero, Seal and one of the greatest film composers of all time, Hans Zimmer. Mixing their own unique talents, each were graced with opportunity of playing their own classic tunes with the incredible backing of the orchestra, with Seal’s own ‘Kiss From A Rose‘ taking on a whole new dimension.
(Photo by Dave Hogan/Hogan Media Shutterstock)
Saving the best for last, Bocelli concluded with his passionate ‘Con Te Partirò’ (Time To Say Goodbye), which never fails to leave goosebumps (and a few tears) with its beautiful lyrics and music. Finally, ‘Nessun Dorma’, possibly the best known tenor arias from opera left the crowd leave with huge smiles over their ponchos.
Here’s hoping Hyde Park will welcome more classical concerts in the coming years.
With so many festivals over the bank holiday weekend, it could be difficult to chose which to attend.
Without doubt, the best festival in August was Victorious Festival in Southsea.
To emphasis the strength of the line-up, many of those artists who were booked to top the bill at lesser festivals often appeared lower down the schedule at Victorious.
As a classic example, Blossoms began proceedings on the south coast on Friday at 1pm, despite headlining many other events this summer. The singer joked that he’d played the same park where the main Common Stage was, when his dad was in the navy at the nearby dockyards.
Billy Nomates followed, fresh from her controversial performance at Glastonbury, where she personally asked for her set to be removed from BBC iPlayer, following unjust abuse and backlash. Although she didn’t have a backing band, she made up for it in style, charisma and talent. Definitely one to keep an eye on and watch out for in the future.
Mancunian legends The Charlatans followed, with a melting pot of their absolute classics – including Weirdo, North Country Boy, One to Another, and of course, The Only One I Know. Singer Tim Burgess was clearly enjoying himself, taking selfies and videos on his iPhone of the huge crowd. Check out both his and The Charlatans Instagram for full coverage and scope of the enormous crowd from his viewpoint.
Following a clash between Friendly Fires and Katy B on the Castle stage, independent singer RAYE followed on the Common stage. She played many songs from her debut album ‘21st Century Blues‘, which she referred affectionately to as her first born baby which she was rightfully extremely proud of. It certainly had an Amy Winehouse vibe. New song ‘Ice Cream Man‘ was particularly powerful with a raw exploration of her life after sexual assault. She finished with more upbeat number one song ‘Escapism‘ which had the crowd singing along.
Jamiroquai was a UK festival exclusive performance for Victorious festival. Joking himself that he was a little thinner and lighter in the 90s successful years, singer Jay Kay still has the space cowboy moves, even if he did ask for the spotlights to be turned down to prevent his cataracts needing replacing….or possibly to stop the crowd getting such a sight of his less nimble physique.
Saturday began with not one, but two special guests. While Australian singer and former Neighbours star Natalie Imbruglia shone on the main stage at 1pm, McFly were secret special guests over at the Castle Stage. Fans were truly torn (excuse the pun) on which to see. Recently celebrating their 20th anniversary, McFly still have the energy and moves to kick start any event and draw in a huge crowd…constantly leaping in the air and showing their choreographed moves. It was impossible not to enjoy their show and easy to understand their continued popularity.
Pale Waves followed, adorning a ‘My Mind Makes Noise‘ tattoo – hopefully that noise is as good in their head as it sounded to the crowd, before the long forgotten The Divine Comedy returned, with their good humour. Walking on stage with a glass of red wine, singer Neil Hannon seemed dazzled by the size of the crowd, before appropriately raising the glass to sing ‘Here’s to You‘. Despite complaining of first-world problems that his plectrums were too thin, they played all their classic tunes from the 90s, including ‘National Express‘ and ‘Something For The Weekend‘. Alas their theme from Father Ted and My Lovely Horse were missing (maybe ask your dad if you missed out the first time.)
Scottish legends Belle and Sebastian followed, asking the crowd what the sign-language for Boris Johnson could possibly be…it appeared to be V signs and definitely not ‘V for Victory’. As is customary for a Belle and Sebastian set, they asked many of the crowd to join them onstage for their biggest hit ‘The Boy With The Arab Strap‘ – much to the dismay of the security guards who were sure how the usher everyone offstage afterwards.
The same crowd questioned why Kaiser Chiefs were not booked as headliners. With so many classic hits and singalongs, it’s testament to the strength of the bill that they were lower down the bill. They never missed a beat and when playing ‘I Predict A Riot‘ mid-set, singer Ricky Wilson climbed up the side of the stage scaffolding, to add to the traumatic day the security team were having.
Kasabian were booked as headliners, but arguably had less singalong songs as the aforementioned Kaiser Chiefs. As well as their own hits, to make up for this, they mixed in classics from Daft Punk (One More Time), Beastie Boys (Intergalactic) and Fatboy Slim (Praise You), before finishing with their own anthem ‘Fire’.
As usual with Victorious festival, Sunday morning began with a big crowd-pleaser name, and another blast-from-the past. DJ Annie Mac began proceedings over on the Castle Stage, while forgotten stars of CCTV Hard-Fi returned for their first show in over 10 years and another festival exclusive for Victorious.
Summer Festival Guide favourite Dylan followed, asking if there were any Harry Styles fans in the crowd, before playing her song based on the One Direction singer which gave rise to her own fame on Tik-Tok.
Norwegian Sigrid followed, fresh from headlining Big Feastival earlier in the weekend. Unfortunately her guitar player Liva Svaeren was forced to sit during the entire set after trying to re-enact her inner Gene Simmons from Kiss and injuring her ankle. This was Sigrid’s last set in the UK before returning home to her native land, but hopefully it won’t be long until she returns to our shores.
Ellie Goulding was fortunate to escape without serious injury after a firework onstage flew backwards into her face. She managed to continue with her set despite the scare, but it remained an emotional performance after she revealed prior that she was splitting from her husband on social-media.
Mumford & Sons concluded the main Common Stage on Sunday night, while legendary guitar player Johnny Marr headlined the Castle Stage. Playing songs from his illustrious career Johnny Marr arguably is now a better singer than his Smiths frontman Morrissey, giving the crowd what they wanted with classic versions of ‘This Charming Man‘, ‘Bigmouth Strikes Again’ and of course, his epic guitar riff ‘How Soon Is Now‘.
Early bird tickets are already available for Victorious 2024 and if the past few years are anything to go by, it’s a safe bet that there will be another incredible line up again next year.
The line-up at the festival this year was truly special. Also unlike many other festivals, it is impressive that two out of the three headliners were women (listen up Glastonbury) – Lorde and Florence & The Machine highlighted powerfully that UK festival line-ups don’t need to be dominated by the usual stale male performers. Saying that, Liam Gallagher certainly didn’t disappoint on Saturday night, in a UK exclusive.
The festival gates opened on Wednesday for the early revellers, or for those who simply wanted to enjoy a break in the stunning Cornish location. But the real party started on Friday.
Gabrielle Aplin began the festival in style, appropriately playing songs from her debut album, English Rain. Everything Everything followed but to a relatively small crowd – possibly due to the conflict with Bob Vylan who was playing the Land of Saints stage at the same time.
Later festival favourites The Vaccines took to the main stage, for their fourth appearance at the festival. Their album entitled ‘What Do Expect From The Vaccines’…well now after all these appearances, it’s clear you can expect feel-good indie pop and a lot of charisma.
Unfortunately charisma was something Ben Howard seemed to be lacking with much of the crowd talking to themselves confused why he was advertised as a special guest, but the headliners certainly didn’t disappoint.
You can always judge a good festival by how many clashes there are, and unbelievably on Friday night, there was a tough four-way choice on the south-coast. Lorde dazzled on the main Stage, beginning with a unique interpretation of her hit ‘Royals‘. Elsewhere, Example kickstarted the Unleashed stage, with the tent looking like it would burst due to number of people trying to squeeze inside.
Possibly the hardest working festival band in the UK, Dub Pistols took to the The View stage overlooking the magnificent Watergate Bay, while the fourth headliner and undisputed kings of rap, Cypress Hill gave a legendary performance of their classic album Black Sunday in the Land of Saints stage.
Coming on stage with possibly the most potent spliff, the stage was also decked out in marijuana plants – presumably fake to get past the increasingly vigilant security. Hit after hit followed, before the ground literally shook when they finished with a cover of ‘Jump Around‘.
You could tell how good Friday night was by the weary faces on Saturday afternoon.
The Lottery Winners began the day, with the singer Thom celebrating his birthday at the festival. Finishing with moving song ‘Letter to Myself’ which, as the name suggests, he wrote to his 12 year old self, with the prophetic lyrics ‘All your greatest days are still yet to come. There will be heartbreak, but there’ll be so much love‘. Wise words.
Dylan followed, clearly with many adoring fans in the crowd and played a guitar hero solo for her dad. The Reytons followed sounding like a second rate Arctic Monkeys, but Confidence Man surprised all the crowd with their euro pop dance moves and early 90s vibe. Singers Janet Planet and Sugar Bones have created one of the hottest acts of the summer. RAYE followed with her stylish new jazz sound despite the strong winds circling.
Little Simz truly is exceptional and deserves to be headlining. Mixing songs from her award winning album ‘Sometimes I Might Be Introvert‘ and ‘No Thank You‘ she has an unbelievable amount of talent, style, and respect. She surely would be top-of-the-bill if it wasn’t for Liam Gallagher, making his UK exclusive headline performance at Boardmasters.
Coming onstage to Manchester City Football Club winning chant, he was in great spirits frequently asked ‘Are there any Oasis fans in the house‘ – proceeding to play a mix of the classic bands material, including ‘Stand by Me‘, ‘Slide Away‘ and ‘Cigarettes and Alcohol.’ He often said during his solo material that the crowd could nip off and grab some noddles while he played his slower material such as ‘The River’. Despite mixing in a few solo songs, when asking ‘What do you want me to play next’, it was clear what the crowd wanted, and he finished with ‘Champagne Supernova‘ and dedicated ‘Live Forever‘ to his late friend who passed away recently.
Fingers crossed there will be an Oasis reunion in the near future. Both Liam and Noel seem to be softening to the idea, and based on the triumphant return of Blur, Suede and Pulp this summer, it is about time the brothers worked it out.
Sunday was a return of many Boardmasters favourites. Gentleman’s Dub Club were back for their regular residence Sunday slot at the festival – no wonder they have been booked so many times as they always get the crowd on their feet….or bare feet in the case of the singer.
With the downpours commencing, many people descended on the Land of Saints stage to witness an inspiring set from Jockstrap, fresh from opening up for Blur at the Wembley shows. They were followed by Squid, who despite a leaking roof in the tent, proved entertaining while the skies cleared.
Dermot Kennedy was one of the surprise highlights of the weekend. If you get chance, check him out at All Points East next Sunday in Victoria Park, London. His songs featured a raw unfiltered honesty reflecting in his emotional and music. He certainly sounds better live than on record where his passion and talent are clearly visible.
Drawing the weekend to a close was the inimitable Florence & The Machine.
This was one of the headline performances of the summer. Boardmasters was lucky to have her.
Dressed in an ethereal gown, she graced the stage, before walking down to join the crowd for two songs. Later, during ‘Dog Days Are Over’ she insisted all of the audience put their phones away and stopped filming to savour the moment in real time. Take note Coldplay. Contrary to this, she finished with ‘Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)‘, in which she insisted everyone raise up their partner or loved one on their shoulders.
Such a unique performance to end to the festival and as stated earlier, Lorde and Florence Welch highlighted that more women should be booked as headliners of UK events going forward.
Rain or shine: Camp Bestival is the ultimate fun-filled family festival.
Although the line up this year in Dorset doesn’t seem as impressive as the sister Shropshire line-up (well this big-kid was upset that Primal Scream weren’t down at the Lulworth Castle event), there was certainly something for all the family over the weekend.
This year marked the 15th anniversary of Camp Bestival – as usual there was plenty of fancy dress across the site. This year, it was animal themed, with the festival teaming up with the fantastic World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
Billed as the ‘Best. Party. Ever’, Australian DJ Hot Dub Time Machine began proceedings by showcasing records from every decade and genre of music, from ‘Ghostbusters‘ to Louis Theroux’s ‘Jiggle Jiggle‘…in his words, Camp Bestival is ‘the best festival in the world. There’s nothing like this anywhere else in the world‘ – he could well be right.
Festival favourites Elvana followed with Elvis fronted Nirvana tunes, mixed in with Blue Suede Shoes and Hound Dog….the ever-charming Scouting for Girls followed with chart-friendly pop songs. Later, Ella Henderson, recently dropped from mogul Simon Cowell’s Syco label, delighted fans despite the pouring rain, with a mix of dance classics ‘Crazy What Love Can Do‘ and ‘Glitterball‘. Brighton indie-boys The Kooks brought the Friday night to a close.
Saturday at Camp Bestival is always fancy-dress day and this year didn’t disappoint.
While on initial glance, the line-up didn’t dazzle, at Camp Bestival, the costumes certainly did sparkle. It’s always the hidden gems and surprises which make it such a special event that festival goers return to each and every year.
This year, was certainly no change. The highlight of the weekend was the HMS Camp Bestival stage, with an unmissable back-to-back DJ set with festival founder and curator Rob da Bank and fashion icon Gok Wan.
Always one to make an impressive appearance, Gok descended on to the stage from above in a giant heart, scattering scented confetti onto the fans. Truly it had to be seen with the crowd dancing while the sun shone. A little later, East 17 brought their House of Love to the Big Top, before closing their summer festival set strangely with Xmas hit song ‘Stay Another Day.’ Fortunately the gifts kept giving, and Summer Festival Guide favourites The Cuban Brothers never disappoint. Miguelito always acknowledges the stunning location of Lulworth Castle as a backdrop and summed up the event well to the press team by stating Camp Bestival is ‘the original festival where you see people coming together, having fun and being free, that’s why it’s so special!”
Always a difficult act to follow, and there’s only one woman in the industry who can do it – Ms Grace Jones. Her stage presence is transfixing and she refuses to grow old without any grace (excuse the pun.) At a majestic 75 years, she hula hooped through her greatest hits, including ‘Slave To The Rhythm‘ and ‘Pull Up To The Bumper‘, where she rode the security guards shoulders as she met her adoring fans.
Sunday began with everyone’s favourite Australian CBeebies legend Bluey, before Mr Motivator blew away all the cobwebs getting everyone, including the aforementioned security guards working out.
Later, remarkably impressive tributes to Kate Bush and Dolly Parton followed, before Spice Girl Mel C delighted mums (as well as many dads with her washboard abs on show.) Beginning with solo material, including ‘When You’re Gone‘, it was truly the girl power songs the crowd were looking for, and she didn’t disappoint. Mixing an acoustic ‘Spice Up Your Life‘ with ‘2 Become 1‘ and ‘Who Do You Think You Are‘, it’ll be great to see if the rumours of a Spice Girl reunion headlining Glastonbury next year are true. Watch this space.
Another difficult act to follow, but Confidence Man, brought the magic from their 2022 Glastonbury winning set to the Dorset coast. A mix of Scissor Sisters and 90s dance, their multiple impressive costume changes kept everyone moving. If you ever get chance to catch them, it’s a definite must and a sublime booking, before Craig David took over the decks with his TS5 show.
Asked what TS5 means, it’s his one man show, in which he DJs, MCs, sings his own material and also covers a number of classic R’n’B tunes, from the likes of Whitney Houston to TLC.
No Camp Bestival can conclude without the absolute highlight and majesty which is the acclaimed firework display.
With Lulworth Castle lit up with animal imagery, fireworks illuminated the sky to the delight of the young and older ones within the audience.
Rob da Bank summed up the weekend perfectly, stating ‘What a weekend with our Camp Bestival family! Josie and I had the best time celebrating 15 years of memories across four magical days and we are thrilled that all of our Camp Bestival family could join us. From a roaring Animal Snap theme to headline sets from Grace Jones, The Kooks and Craig David, it’s been a birthday celebration for the history books and we can’t wait to bring the magic of Camp Bestival to Shropshire in just three weeks time!”‘
The Prodigy have been confirmed as special guests for Boomtown festival’s 15 year anniversary – on Sunday, August 13, 2023.
Like many other festivals, Boomtown has been seeking The Prodigy for over a decade. Unfortunately, Keith Flint is no longer with us, but Maxim and Liam Howlett still have the energy to get any party started. Last night they played the Mad Cool festival in Madrid, with giant screens projecting their late icon for all to remember.
Mark our words, if you’ve never seen the Prodigy live, this is one not to miss. They will churn up Winchester like no others.
Boomtown co-founder, Luke Mitchell said: “The Prodigy’s energy, immense production value, and influence in the rave scene make them the perfect match for Boomtown, and I’m over the moon that we’ve been able to finally get this nailed down and can now share the exciting news. The Prodigy are the most Boomtown band on the planet.”
If you’re lucky, you may still be able to find some tickets here.
After this announcement, we don’t expect them to hang around for long.
The Saturday starts off warm, but things are about to get even hotter, as Pink brings her Summer Carnival Tour to Hyde Park.
Opening the Great Oak stage was Gayle, self-described on her YouTube channel as ‘bassive aggressive dyslexic’ – unusual choice of words, especially as she finished with her hit ‘ABCDE-FU’.
Next up was Eurovision wonder Sam Ryder – it’s impressive he’s playing BST as a support artist, as he’s booked to headline many events this summer himself, including Camp Bestival. Dressed in a knitted smiley outfit, he encourages the crowd to join him in a singalong of ‘better to have fought and lost than never fought at all‘ from his hit song from Ted Lasso tv-show, but the crowd are clearly here waiting for his galactic hit ‘Spaceman‘. It was his birthday over the weekend and what a way to celebrate!
When you’re Pink, you can call upon the biggest artists to support you. They don’t come much bigger than Gwen Stefani, fresh from her own headline appearance at Warwick Castle. To promote the tour, she’s appeared on BBC’s flagship The One Show, as well as This Morning and touted her love of British Music, Madness and The Selecter and it’s clear to see her 2Tone influences with her impressive outfits and costume changes.
As well as solo hits ‘Hollaback Girl‘ and ‘The Sweet Escape‘, she introduces her new song ‘True Babe‘, with the video and lyrics shown on the large screens. The sh!t really is bananas as she mixes Alice in Wonderland visual sets with Harajuku Girls and throws in a few classic No Doubt songs for good measure. On ‘Rich Girl‘, she was also joined by American rapper Even to the delight of the crowd.
What You Waiting For? Well there’s only one act that could possibly follow Gwen Stefani, and she certainly doesn’t disappoint.
P!NK likes to make a big entrance and at Hyde Park, there is simply no exception.
In front of a 65,000+ crowd, she appeared at the very top of the stage and proceeded to bungee down to greet her adoring fans.
What a way to get the party started. For almost two hours, she sling-shotted herself across the stage in a series of impressive leotards. But it wasn’t just the aerial acrobatics. She has an incredible singing voice, but also a voice which refuses to be silenced when she wants to make a clear message and speak up for what she believes in. Talking with the crowd, many people threw gifts, including chocolates and a vast array of soft-toy frogs. By far the most impressive, and (also most pungent) gift she was presented with though was a whole wheel of cheese – god only knows how the audience member managed to get that past the security into the coveted gold-circle.
Her daughter Willow Sage Hart joined her onstage for a version of ‘Cover Me In Sunshine‘, and she impressively covered First Aid Kit’s song ‘Kids in Love‘, and Sade’s ‘No Ordinary Love’, added her own unique style onto each.
Finishing the show, she literally took to the air again high above the crowds, singing ‘So What‘ and finished to a backdrop of fireworks. Such an impressive audio and visual show.
Following P!NK next weekend will be two polar extremes – Guns’n’Roses fresh from their triumphant set and Glastonbury on Friday, while Take That will shine brightly on Saturday.
Hyde Park always produces the best line up of the year at the British Summer Time (BST) concerts
This year is no exception. Below are some of the highlights
P!NK (Saturday 24 June and Sunday 25 June)
Over two nights, P!NK will be impressing crowds as part of her Summer Carnival Tour, supported by icon Gwen Stefani, On Saturday, 24 June, she’ll also be joined by Eurovision Spaceman Sam Ryder and Sam Tompkins. On Sunday, she’ll be joined by Tinashe and Lyra.
Guns ‘N’ Roses (Friday 30 June)
Fresh from headlining Glastonbury Festival, legends Guns ‘N’ Roses will be performing, with classic rock tunes ‘Welcome To The Jungle‘, ‘Paradise City’ and ‘November Rain‘ hopefully awaiting the huge crowds. They’ll be joined by The Pretenders, The Darkness, Larkin Poe, Dirty Honey and more.
Take That (Saturday 1 July)
Gary, Mark and Howard will provide the greatest day out and will be supported by an impressive pop line-up of The Script, Sugababes, Will Young, Aly & AJ and many more.
BLACKPINK (Sunday 2 July)
Girl band BlackPink will be delighting their K-Pop fans across the capital – definitely a unique event and one for the super-fans.
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (Thursday 6 July and Saturday 8 July)
There’s a reason Bruce is affectionately called The Boss – his live shows are legendary memorable events, lasting over three hours. One never to miss and he certainly is defying his 73 years, getting better with age.
There are limited tickets available for some of the above dates. Visit https://www.bst-hydepark.com for more details.
Kite: Self-described as ”a festival like no other’, this truly was one of the most eclectic and exciting line-ups of the summer.
Where else could you see Dame Joan Collins as support act for Hot Chip? Or Tony Blair’s former PR guru Alastair Campbell on stage before former Conservative PM Sir John Major?
Mel Giedroyc kicked off proceedings, interviewing Adam Kay, best selling author of ‘This Is Going to Hurt’. Cheekily, Michael Gove was conducting a newspaper review next door, so Mel encouraged the crowd to cheer ‘Gove is Guilty’ – quite!
Boris Johnson’s resignation as MP following his shameful lying dominated proceedings all weekend. Sir John Major stated ‘Johnson has attacked a bedrock of our democracy, by ransacking and ignoring the convention of behaviours in parliament’. In the ex-PM’s words: ‘The worst enemy of Boris Johnson is in fact Boris himself.’
Headliners Hot Chip had the crowd dancing Over-and-Over, in the words of their pop song. Truly, they remain one of Summer Festival Guide’s favourite live bands.
Elsewhere, Alison Goldfrapp was truly breathtaking in her sequinned dress, with an elaborate cast of choreographed backing dancers, but the 10,000 strong-crowd reaction was a little lacklustre. Later, Grammy Award winning Candy Staton delighted fans on her farewell tour with hits ‘Young Hearts Run Free’ and ‘Stand By Your Man.’
Sunday morning began with Shadow-chancellor Rachel Reeves answering questions from the crowd in a confident manner.
Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t just speeches and politics all weekend. The Pretenders still have the swagger and great true rock’n’roll tunes. Unfortunately their set was cut short by the overhead electrical storm, but they still played crowd pleasers ‘Stop Your Sobbing’ and ‘Back on the Chain Gang’. It’s a surprise The Pretenders weren’t booked as headliners.
Django Django followed after the thunder passed with their unique electronic blend of synthesisers and guitars, before Britpop legends Suede stormed on stage. Truly loving the crowd reception, Brett Anderson gets better with age and clearly put everything into his performance, leaving the stage dripping head-to-toe in sweat.
Ciro Romano, festival director, summed the event up well:
“The long-awaited second-ever KITE brought immense joy and a renewed sense of togetherness. The enthusiastic response from our passionate audience reaffirmed the festival’s unwavering ethos. Against the stunning Kirtlington Park backdrop, attendees revelled in a weekend of unforgettable music, thought-provoking cultural experiences, and delightful new discoveries.”
