The weather has never felt more perfect for the British Summer Time festival on Thursday 6th July as the mighty Bruce Springsteen is set to take the headlines with The Chicks and Frank Turner as main support.
At 1:00 p.m., the gates opened and stewards had to tell people rushing for the event to slow down as they raced through the park. Springsteen has attracted a wide age range of music fans, which span over six decades of his musical career.
Hampshire-born, Essex-based punk rocker Frank Turner took to the stage to kick off proceedings on the Great Oak Stage (main). Thursday’s show was for 2,788 Turner and the Sleeping Souls, but the fact that he was still there understated how much of a deal it was.
“2,788 are welcome to show for us – that’s a huge number. I’m a bit nervous about this show, we’ve almost done 2,788 warm-up shows for this gig in sunny London this afternoon.”
He also told the audience how big of a Springsteen fan he is and what an honor it is to open the stage before teasing him in reference to his Springsteen-related tattoo, which I find out later in the interview is the title of the song ‘Born to Run on His Stomach.’ He would go on to perform a variety of tracks from his nine studio albums, including ‘The Next Wave’, ‘Recovery’ and ‘Country folk-rock dance number“, ‘Photosynthesis’ Backstage, Turner described the day as an emotional rollercoaster but gained some new fans by the end of the set.
Local superstars The Chicks bring their Texas roots to the British stage. Playing instantly recognizable numbers such as ‘Wide Open Spaces’, ‘Gaslighter’ and ‘Goodbye Earl’, they serenaded the crowd with Fleetwood Mac’s cover of ‘Landlide’. Natalie Maines and sisters Marty Maguire and Emily Strayer were impressed with their performance, which they called “an experiment in pre-show entertainment” before Springsteen. Perhaps the highlight of their set was ‘March of the March’ from their recent album ‘Gaslighter’ which featured a heavy focus on the Black Lives Matter movement in the background of the video.
On the rainbow stage newcomers Picture Parlor were the first act to take the stage seven months after their first live gig in front of 150 people. The Manchester-based band performed their debut single ‘Norwegian Wood’ to an appreciative crowd before Liverpool-based STONE followed with a heavy set. Irish superstars Coronas headlined the Rainbow Stage with hits from their 26-year career, including ‘Everybody Else’, ‘Addicted to Growth’ and ‘Listen Dear’. Daniel O’Reilly, Graham Knox and Conor Egan enjoyed the show as much as their fans.
At the Birdcage, Attawalpa, Theo Lawrence and New UK Country Act First Time Flyers also warmed up the crowd throughout the day before the legendary Bruce Springsteen performed for the crowd in attendance. In three hours, he performs a high-energy set with the help of the E Street Band.
Guitarist Steven Van Zandt and saxophonist Jake Clemons – the son of original member Clarence Clemons – gave a stellar performance of the Commodores’ Nightshift, an 18-strong band.‘ and a song written with Patti Smith, ‘Because the Night’.
With three days of more fantastic live musicians coming, this show has raised the bar like never before and BST in Hyde Park continues to bring great success and excitement to the British public.
