Forget the rest of any bucket list I may have had. Saturday night in Hyde Park, surrounded by 69,999 other souls in cowboy hats, watching Garth Brooks perform his first UK show in almost 30 years, was quite simply one of the most joyful live music experiences of my life. I am still emotional, and still wondering how a man can make an entire field of Londoners weep into their two pina coladas.
The day had been building since the gates opened. American Express presents BST Hyde Park has a knack for turning that corner of the Royal Park into a proper festival wonderland, and this year’s opening day was no exception. The site buzzed with country music fans who had travelled from across the UK and Ireland, many wearing Stetsons, many clutching signs declaring their devotion, all of them ready for something special. I arrived backstage, sweaty and excited, and immediately found myself enveloped in the warmth of the country music community.
Let me start with the support acts because they were not mere warm-ups. They were a feast. The Shires, our very own British country pioneers, opened the Great Oak Stage with a set that made me proud to be a UK country fan. Ben Earle’s declaration, “We’re so proud to be from the UK making country music and to see how far country music has come here,” set the tone perfectly.
“Country music has grown so much in London, and I have watched it bloom over nine years of coming to this city.” This felt like a celebration of that journey. Later on backstage I met the singer and she was so lovely and told me to stay in touch.
Ashley McBryde took to the stage later with a roar of electric guitar and banjo, putting the rock in country rock. I had the privilege of interviewing her backstage, and I can tell you she is the priestess of country music. Her lyrics cut deep, and her stage presence is fire.
Before belting out ‘One Night Standards’, she looked out at the sea of faces and said, “I’m looking at more people than the populations of everybody in this band’s hometowns combined.” She also shared some unforgettable words with the audience: “If you wanna go to heaven you gonna have to put your mama in a song,” and “If at the end of this gig I came off stage without any sweat and without my lashes dripping off my face, I didn’t come here to do what I had to do.” Trust me, her lashes were dripping.
Then there was Alexandra Kay. What a voice. What a woman. She belted out ‘Everleave’ and ‘Straight For The Heart’ and then, in a move of pure genius, delivered a rendition of Chappell Roan’s ‘Pink Pony Club’ that had the entire crowd screaming.
But for me, the real magic happened backstage. Alexandra has her own coffee brand, The Coffee Girl, and she invited me to share a cup of a special blend she created herself. I had not one, not two, but three caramel iced coffees. We chatted, we laughed, and I experienced firsthand the down-to-earth kindness that runs through this genre. Watch this space for my full interview with the Coffee Girl, because her story is as warm as her brew.
The Zac Brown Band brought the party with ‘Toes’ and a riotous ‘The Devil Went Down To Georgia’, while Jackson Dean charmed the Rainbow Stage with his easy grin and songs from Magnolia Sage. Mae Estes was a dream come true, asking the crowd, “We heard you like your guitar with a twang?” and getting a roar in response. Crowe Boys had everyone singing along to a cover of Snow Patrol’s ‘Chasing Cars’, and on the Birdcage Stage, Irish songwriter McGrath, Leah Blevins and Chanel Yates all delivered gorgeous sets. It was a day stacked with talent, each artist bringing their own flavour to the country table.
And then, as the summer evening light began to soften, the moment arrived. Garth Brooks walked onto that stage and the field erupted. He launched straight into ‘Rodeo’, and from that first chord, the energy was electric. “We’re gonna play a lot of cowboy songs tonight,” he told us, and that is exactly what he did. The setlist was a masterclass: ‘Two of a Kind, Workin’ On a Full House’, ‘The Beaches of Cheyenne’, ‘Two Pina Coladas’, ‘The River’. Every single person knew every single word. I have never heard a crowd sing with such joyful, unselfconscious abandon.
Garth was visibly emotional throughout. “Normally the magic comes from the stage,” he said at one point, his voice catching, “but today it came from the audience.” He told us he was shocked at the love sent his way, and promised, “I’m not sure what the future is, but you can bet your ass I’m coming back here.” The impromptu moments were pure gold: a sign in the crowd prompted a spontaneous, note-perfect cover of Bob Seger’s ‘Night Moves’, with Garth joking that the show could not be changed on a dime because “we got dance moves, we got it all going on right here, right?”
A tribute to Billy Joel, a former BST Hyde Park headliner, brought huge cheers with ‘Piano Man’ and ‘Shameless’. And then there was the encore. ‘Friends in Low Places’ was the anthem we all knew was coming, and the field became one giant, swaying, singing family. He closed with ‘The Dance’, a cover of Tony Arata’s beautiful song, and I am not ashamed to say I cried. Around me, grown men in cowboy hats were wiping their eyes. It was that kind of night.
What struck me most, beyond the hits and the showmanship, was a simple philosophy Garth shared: “It’s only when you do something together that it matters.” That, I think, is the heart of country music. It is not a solitary experience. It is a shared, communal, messy, beautiful thing. And on Saturday night, 69,999 of us did something truly special together.
BST Hyde Park continues with headline sets from ATEEZ, Maroon 5, Mumford & Sons, Duran Duran, Pitbull and Lewis Capaldi. If you can get a ticket, go. Wear a hat, grab a pina colada, and let yourself be swept away. Country music has found a very happy home in London, and I am already counting down the days until Garth Brooks comes back.
Tickets and full line-up at www.bst-hydepark.com | @bsthydepark
Monica Costa founded London Mums in September 2006 after her son Diego’s birth together with a group of mothers who felt the need of meeting up regularly to share the challenges and joys of motherhood in metropolitan and multicultural London. London Mums is the FREE and independent peer support group for mums and mumpreneurs based in London https://www.londonmumsmagazine.com and you can connect on Twitter @londonmums
