BST Hyde Park 2023 round-up: The Darkness, Pretenders and more

The continuation of BST Hyde Park on Friday brought with it a rock n’ roll lineup featuring the legendary Guns ’N’ Roses as the headline act with support from Pretenders, The Darkness, Larkin Poe and more. Throughout the month of July, Take That, BLACKPINK, Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, Billy Joel and Lana Del Ray are all set to take the main stage as well making it another fantastic summer of music in the capital. 

The weather was more overcast on Friday as a good amount of the 60,000 strong crowd hurried through the gates to get front row spaces for the iconic Guns ’N’ Roses. Others ventured to the different food and drink stalls around the grounds offering a variety of fare to keep them fed and watered throughout the long day where as even more headed to the merchandise stalls to purchase new apparel. Although most band t-shirts spotted throughout the venue appeared to be Guns N’ Roses related, the selection of other artists on stages today didn’t disappoint in the build up. 

Opening the main stage were American siblings Rebecca and Megan Lovell of Larkin Poe. Roots rock n’ rollers, they kicked off the day with a gritty set which impressed the British crowd. Now living in music city, Nashville, Tennessee, the duo have been busy over the last five years releasing just as many albums and securing their spot as the up and coming band to pay serious attention to. Their voices compliment each other nicely and their stage presence was infectious with the audience grooving to each number. Older sister Megan played the slide guitar with conviction and younger sister Rebecca hit her Stratocaster with intensity throughout their set. Stand out songs included ‘Bad Spell’ and Son House cover ‘Preachin’ Blues’. 

British favourites The Darkness followed and it’s impossible to dislike Justin Hawkins as a live artist. His ability to mesmerise the crowd with his musicianship whilst simultaneously acting like a fool is brilliant. Alongside brother Dan Hawkins, Frankie Pullain and Rufus Taylor he performed songs from the now 20 year old ‘Permission To Land’ (when did that happen?), as well as more recent records. They even treated the audience to a little rendition of ‘Don’t Let The Bells End’…did I mention the show was on the 30th June? It wasn’t by choice though as it was being loudly requested by the audience. For the pure joy and excitement it brought to the crowd though, it was a real highlight.

The Pretenders brought the legacy music throughout the course of the afternoon with Chrissie Hynde proving she’s still got it in her seventies playing hits such as ‘Back On The Chain Gang’, ‘Don’t Get Me Wrong’ and ‘I’ll Stand By You’ meanwhile newer rock band on the scene Dirty Honey enticed audiences over to the Rainbow Stage with their blend of classic rock, blues and Californian style. Having seen them before on their UK tour, it would be silly to think they wouldn’t go down well and their performance garnered much reward from a loyal audience. 

Guns N’ Roses completed the day of music with an impressive three hour set (read more about it here). Axl Rose, Slash, Duff Mckagan, Richard Fortus, Frank Ferrer and Melissa Reese combined to perform hits ranging across all the decades of the bands successful reign at the top of the rock leagues including fan favourites ‘Live and Let Die’, ‘Welcome To The Jungle’, ‘Rocket Queen’ and ‘Paradise City’. 

Although the weather wasn’t as bright as the previous Sunday at BST, it certainly didn’t dampen the spirits of any festival attendees. With strong support slots all across the spectrum this year, if you’re heading to any future dates, get in early and catch all of the action early. 

For more information on BST Hyde Park and tickets please visit https://www.bst-hydepark.com.