BST Hyde Park 2026: Maroon 5

Sunshine, breeze, and the Aperol terrace within view from just outside the entrance: BST Hyde Park is set for success. 

Kicking off the festivities is Reading’s own Only The Poets, setting the tone with their heart-thumping opening on the Great Oak Stage. Maybe it’s the proximity to the stage, maybe it’s too early in the afternoon, but the drawl of their bass and hearing their debut album AND I’D DO IT AGAIN live makes our ribcage thrum in the best ways.

On The Birdcage stage is Stefan Mahendra. He details the origins of his song, ‘Too Late’, as his down-to-earth demeanour welcomes passing guests. Mahendra demonstrates the ultimate hallmark of songwriting: prioritising audience engagement through carefully crafted melodies that allow the audience to learn the chorus on first listen. Meanwhile, sunlight grants the perfect lighting for Pedro Santos. He’s mid-set, drums rolling to signal his departure from bedroom pop. His upcoming releases, ‘Don’t Make It Harder For Me’ and ‘Crash Out’, feature a guttural register and piano-heavy choruses with delicious riffs. Clocking early leavers in his crowd, he leaves the stage for the barricades, beckoning the crowd closer while singing his thanks and goodbyes. It’s a smart move that artists shouldn’t have to pull to retain an audience when at big-scale events like BST. 

Arriving late to sets would become a repeated offence due to the relentless schedule. A modest 5-10-minute buffer between performances would allow festival goers to take toilet breaks and top up drinks without missing anything.

Back at the Great Oak, Ella Eyre makes her return to BST with hits from EVERYTHING, IN TIME. Her energy is infectious, and the ruffle multi-layer skirt she rocks complements her dancing. She treats us to a cover of Gnarls Barkley’s ‘Crazy’, which sparked her music career 14 years ago, and her version of Jermaine Stewart’s ‘We Don’t Have to Take Our Clothes Off’. Eyre requests audiences aware of the song’s origins to let the youth think it’s hers—“Don’t tell ‘em!” Her finale begins with some lovely parting words, “I know you came here for Maroon 5 and OneRepublic, but me? I Came Here For Love.” Trusting her audience with the iconic chorus, she raises her microphone high, as ten thousand voices belt the melody right back at her.

“I should be revising right now,” jokes Pat Hamilton, delivering an easy-listening set featuring his latest high-energy single specifically written for the festival scene. After a few endearing false starts on ‘3:00’, he cheekily notes his upcoming London gig would be much cheaper than Maroon 5’s. Closing with the folk-inspired, sea-shanty rhythms of ‘Fools Gold’, the rising talent is one we are excited to watch flourish.

Back to the Great Oak, it’s been a while since Jess Glynne performed in London. Glynne remains an icon as she takes a swig of tequila in a pint glass onstage. As expected, the audience becomes her choir during ‘Rather Be’ and ‘Hold My Hand’—yes, the Jet2Holiday song. But the heart of the set was her prelude to ‘Thursday’, where she comments on the modern pressures on self-image and unrealistic expectations. She urges her crowd, urges women, to look in the mirror and know, “You’re alright”.

Heartthrob Bradley Simpson delivers a masterclass in showmanship. His dedicated crowd, who have undoubtedly followed him since his Vamps days, erupt in excitement when he tosses his guitar pick out and shouts out his bandmates in the audience who have played with him at BST before. As a special treat, he performs his catchy unreleased track, ‘The Shakes’, noting that this is the largest crowd he’s played it to. Simpson then flaunts his vocals on ‘Carpet Burn’, showing exactly why he’s worth seeing live.

The party continues with high-pitched excitement, startling birds out of their nests as OneRepublic prefaces they’re on a time crunch, no album deep cuts today, “We’re playing songs you all know!” Ryan Tedder gets the crowd hyped with what he calls “Hyde Park karaoke”: songs he’s penned for Beyoncé, Adele, and Jesse McCartney. Of course, the crowd eats it up. How can we not? These are classics, songs that everyone who knows the gloss of a CD lyric book can sing to perfectly. A missed opportunity here is perhaps a mash-up of Tedder’s iconic songs, instead of broken choruses that leave us wanting more. That said, who can complain when the catalogue is that impressive?

More throwbacks include ‘Secrets’, ‘Apologise’, and ‘Stop and Stare’. Tedder reflects on the latter, noting that it remains one of OneRepublic’s most important works because it proved they “had a shot at this”. Tedder reveals the band’s early anxieties with how unexpectedly popular ‘Apologise’ was. Thankfully, the world craved more OneRepublic. The band is a tease, seducing the audience with the slow melodic whistle from ‘I Ain’t Worried’ before the band joins full force. Though it’s Tedder running up and down, the band steals the show with their musical prowess. The viola gets whipped out, the cello is a dance partner, the double keyboard is played with ease, guitars spin with their handlers, and the drums keep our hearts banging to the beat. OneRepublic remains incomplete without the appearance of their most important member: Tedder’s tambourine. The lead singer tosses, kicks, and does tricks with the instrument like an extension of his body. It has our jaws slacking at this showmanship and playfulness, because what can’t Ryan Tedder do? As they hand their instruments to the crew, we are reminded of how long these hitmakers have been a staple of our lives, and how OneRepublic have established their place as The Architects of Modern Pop. 

As the skies pink to send off the sun, Maroon 5 makes their long-awaited Hyde Park debut to the roar of over 60,000 fans. They remain one of pop-rock’s most resilient forces with their immaculate setlist. Frontman Adam Levine pauses to marvel at the crowd, reminiscing about playing to just 40 people at the Camden Barfly in ‘03. He gets the crowd going with a Freddie Mercury-style call-and-response, checking in on every corner of the park. Against their jaw-dropping production design, bathing the field in technicolour, Maroon 5 lives up to their promise to “make the rest of London jealous”. They seamlessly transition from ‘Stereo Hearts’ to ‘Animals’ to an unexpected segment highlighting Grammy winner and member PJ Morton. The OG Maroon 5 become Morton’s supporting musicians for his solo track ‘Heavy’, which has the crowd swinging to the beat.

The band goes quiet before ‘Memories’. Levine alludes to Maroon 5’s late manager and Levine’s childhood friend, Jordan Feldstein, as he gestures to Hyde Park, “This was one of his dreams for us.” Grief is a familiar monster. Archival photos scroll on the big screen as Levine tries to ground himself. Together, we sing our respects to those who have left us too soon.

Maroon 5 keeps it hot even as the temperatures drop, bringing out flashbanging lighting for ‘Moves Like Jagger’. While seemingly the last song as the stage goes dark, we know it doesn’t end here… Coins drop into a slot, buttons beep, and something rings. We are transported back to another era, as Maroon 5 proudly declares that they are 24 years old. They wrap up the festivities with a euphoric, flawless finish featuring worldwide-beloved hits ‘Payphone’ and ‘Sugar’.

On a random Friday in July, BST Hyde Park blesses London with the presence of legendary hitmakers, unforgettable live music, and spoils us with the sounds of childhood.