Before 4th July 2024 very few country music lovers could imagine a country artist headlining at BST Hyde Park though its clear Morgan Wallen would be the first one to do so as evidenced by the crowd.
The sun was shining and beers were flowing as thousands of fans donning cowboy hats and boots filled Hyde Park, with fans from across the globe in attendance with locals, fans lying in to see the star and Americans celebrating the 4th July.
The festival felt like a true Independence Day celebration only outside of the United States with a line up of country artists such as Ella Langley, ERNEST and Riley Green. This atmosphere seemed to make Wallen feel right at home as if he were celebrating back in Nashville!
Morgan Wallen returned to the UK after his third album, One Thing At A Time spent an astounding 19 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard charts in the US and his debut UK performance at the O2 Arena in December 2023 which broke records for a country music show in the UK.
The crowd included Hollywood stars Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his wife Brittany who were celebrating the 4th July in London at the day festival.
He appeared on the stage screens doing in full white sporting a trucker cap and cowboy boots for his signature walk out to the stage to “Broadway Girls” and “Whiskey Whiskey” – both songs Wallen has featured on, before the noise and buzz in the crowd got even more intense as he kicked off set with “Ain’t That Some”. Morgan’s setlist consisted of 23 beloved songs from his albums and a cover of “Cover Me Up” by Jason Isbell.
There were several highlights of the set, including the nostalgic twang of “98 Braves” and “More Than My Hometown,” as well as Wallen leaving the main stage to walk through the crowd and perform a section of the show on performed on a smaller stage in the centre for an intimate fan experience for those nearer the back of the 50,000 strong festival audience.
He also performed his new single “Lies Lies Lies”, which the crowd instantly took too and were singing along with the chorus by the end. “You Proof” and “Up Down” also had such an incredible energy. It’s clear that Morgan is such a true performer. He has such a strong stage presence and a stamina rivalling athletes to run around a huge stage for two hours, singing live and with such a high level of energy to fill an open air space.
Even though Post Malone wasn’t in attendance for his latest hit “I Had Some Help”, his good friend and country artist ERNEST who had performed earlier that day joined him onstage to perform their song “Cowgirls”.
Morgan’s encore featured fan favourites such as “Whiskey Glasses”, “Thinkin’ Bout Me” and “Last Night”, which many members of the crowd first heard when it went viral on TikTok.
We hope as his stardom in the UK continues to rise Morgan Wallen makes touring and performing over here a regular occurrence and we see him back here very soon. He is back in the UK in September for an arena show in Glasgow before heading to Dublin for two shows there. We will sit and beg the country music gods for a full UK tour in 2025!
Words + photography by Niamh Louise
