Last night, Kings of Leon played as part of this year’s Barclaycard presents British Sumer Time Hyde Park series. The American band played the fourth headline show at this year’s festival in front of 55,000 punters.
Kings of Leon aka brothers Nathan, Caleb and Jared Followill and cousin Matthew Followill performed on the Great Oak Stage. Other acts who played yesterday included the legendary Pixies who performed classics such as Where is My Mind, Monkey Gone To Heaven and La La Love You. Caleb Followill said about their support: “I also have to say… how crazy it is to be here this year on the stage with the Pixies. They were one of the biggest influences on this band. Last year we were here and we actually did a cover of a Pixies song. And to be back here and to see it live was really, really amazing.”
Other acts that played the Great Oak Stage last night included, Massachusetts rock band Highly Suspect, LA based indie rockers Local Natives and Colorado’s Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats.
On the Barclaycard Stage people could watch Frightened Rabbit, Deaf Havana whilst The Cactus Blossoms and Benjamin Booker played the Summer Stage.
Last time I saw Kings Of Leon play Hyde Park it was 2010 and the band was just about to release its fifth studio album Come Around Sundown. I was stood at the front and thought that the band were full of energy and their repertoire strong. Fast forward seven years down the line and Kings of Leon are now an institution with seven albums under their belt and an even bigger, younger fanbase.
Last night, Kings of Leon were in great form, I thought the band chose some of their best tracks (certainly some of the most popular ones) but also tracks I had not heard live in a while such as King of The Rodeo and Trani.
As a live act you can’t really fault Kings of Leon, the band plays flawlessly and Caleb’s vocals are always on point. Let’s not forget these guys have been at it for almost two decades now. Even though I wasn’t a huge fan of the band’s fifth and sixth album, their current album, Walls showed that the Nashville musicians still have it in them to make great records, which is why I was disappointed I didn’t hear more tracks from the new album.
Ultimately the tracks that were the most popular were the ones that English fans fell in love with in the first place, such as Fans, Knocked Up and On Call. The band’s smash hits were also very popular, the crowd belted out every lyric of tracks Be Somebody and Sex on Fire. But it wasn’t all about old material, Supersoaker from Kings of Leon’s last album went down a treat and the band chose to close their set with a track from Walls, Waste a Moment, which worked.
Overall I thought it was a great gig but must say that the rockers felt tame, the set was mellow, sometimes a bit too mellow and the soundsystem in Hyde Park didn’t do them justice. Still Kings of Leon hold a dear place in my heart and hearing their new material sound as good live as it does on record put a smile on my face.
Set list: 1. Over 2. Slow Night, So Long 3. King of the Rodeo 4. The Bucket 5. Mary 6. Eyes on You 7. Back Down South 8. Fans 9. Trani 10. Milk 11. Talihina Sky 12. WALLS 13. Find Me 14. Radioactive 15. On Call 16. Notion 17. Use Somebody 18. Knocked Up 19. Pyro 20. Cold Desert 21. Reverend 22. The Immortals 23. Closer 24. Crawl 25. Supersoaker 26. Sex on Fire 27. Waste a Moment Performance Date: 6th July 2017
