Former Fleetwood Mac singer, the legendary Stevie Nicks, headlined the Great Oak Stage night at a sold out American Express presents BST Hyde Park on Friday, in what was one of the most iconic performances of 2024 so far. The 76-year-old star arrived on stage to a sea of applause after undergoing minor surgery on her leg in the last few weeks. Naturally, Nicks, who has been performing since the age of 18, left no hit out of her two hour long setlist, giving the awaiting audience the show of their lives.
The crowd roared in anticipation as Nicks made her way to the stage, the introductory notes to “Outside The Rain” teasing what was to come. Fleetwood Mac’s iconic “Dreams” followed, and the singer looked radiant in black and gold, as she embraced the crowd. “Thank you, welcome Hyde Park.. I’m really glad to be here and I’m really glad for you to be here,” she announced. “So let’s get this Hyde Park party started.”
A blend of timeless tunes, and a sense of storytelling through the ages, set the theme for the night – the stream of tracks including, “If Anyone Falls”, “Gypsy”, “For What It’s Worth”, “Free Falling”, “Wild Heart” and “Bella Donna” – the latter picked from Nicks’ debut platinum-selling 1981 album of the same name. Nicks also made a heartfelt dedication to her friend and fellow artist Tom Petty – performing his most famous track, “Free Fallin’”, while the audience sang their hearts out. “This is a special day for me for lots of reasons, for me to be back here,” she explained, referring to Nicks’ last appearance alongside Petty at Hyde Park just before he passed away in 2017. “…I feel his presence.”
Before launching into “Gypsy”, Nicks drew attention to her trademark black and gold cape. “This cape has been mended many, many times – unlike the Bella Donna cape that has never been mended,” she laughed. “It has been mended so many times, [but] it’s still standing. I don’t know [how].”
The second half of the set brought to life the likes of, “Stand Back”, “Gold Dust Woman” and “Leather and Lace”. Meanwhile, “Edge of Seventeen” came with an epic four-minute guitar intro from another legendary musician, Waddy Wachtel. Wachtel, who has also played with the likes of the Rolling Stones, Jon Bon Jovi and Iggy Pop, was at Nicks’ side for the entire set.
“You have been awesome…” Nicks thanked the crowd before the stage went dark, an encore looming. Inevitably, her finale was nothing short of spectacular. She began with “Rhiannon”, before the night climaxed with the arrival of Harry Styles on stage. The pair went onto duet on “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” with Styles on the guitar. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house as they sang a very special version of “Landslide” in dedication to Nicks’ former Fleetwood Mac bandmate, the late Christine McVie, whose birthday would have been today. Old photographs of the pair appeared on the screens throughout.
Better quality of Harry and Stevie Nicks performing “Landslide” at BST Hyde Park
– July 12, 2024 pic.twitter.com/WakdOxgzTa
— HSNews (@HS_News_) July 12, 2024
“I asked Harry to do this, and it’s always heavy to ask someone to come and sing this song with you, when you’re singing about your best friend that died so suddenly and so sadly. What I want you to know is that Christine was Harry’s girl and she was my girl, she was your girl. And she loved all of this. And today was her birthday, so, it’s taken me all this time to try to deal with this situation.
“One thing my mum used to say to me when I was little, when I was hurt, was ‘Stevie when you’re hurt, you always run to the stage’. And that’s what I have been doing ever since Chris passed away, I’ve been running to the stage. And the only people who have helped me to get over all of this, has been all of you.”
The show ended with Nicks and Styles holding hands, as they took a bow and waved goodnight.
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Taking on “the biggest show she has ever played”, Brandi Carlile was beside herself to be playing the Great Oak Stage at Hyde Park in London. “Man, I was so nervous but my wife told me not to be nervous,” she explained sweetly. “I can’t believe I get to play Hyde freaking Park with all these people.”
Of course, Carlisle had nothing to fear as she performed her most loved tracks, such as “Right On Time”, “Sinners, Saints and Fools” and “The Joke”. Two very special nods – to Joni Mitchell with a cover of “Woodstock” and to Queen, with a cover of “We Are The Champions” – brought her brilliant hour-long set to a close.
Multi Mercury Award and Brit Award nominee, Anna Calvi, added a touch of Flamenco to the supporting line-up earlier, with songs taken from her four studio albums taking centre stage. Kicking off with “Rider To The Sea”, Calvi delivered perfect performances of “Suzanne & I”, “I’ll Be Your Man” and “Don’t Beat The Girl Out Of Me Boy.” The set was speckled with dedicatory covers, including Keren Ann’s “Strange Weather” and TV On The Radio’s “Wolf Like Me”. She ended with a poignant cover of Suicide’s “Ghost Rider”.
Paris Paloma was tasked with warming up audiences on the Great Oak Stage this afternoon… And warm them up she did with her alternative-folk sound. “Hello BST, this is nuts… this is insane – [a] crazy amount of people to allow me to play for.” Wearing her trademark chic embroidery and silk, the Derbyshire artist performed “As Good A Reason” from her upcoming record, followed by her much-loved track, “Labour” – which racked up one million streams on Spotify within 24 hours of release. “This was incredibly important to me when I wrote it and it’s still incredibly important to me now,” she said.
Baby Queen, aka Arabella Latham, credits Nicks’ former band, Fleetwood Mac, as one of her greatest influences. Headlining The Rainbow Stage today, the Durban-born and London-based singer appeared beside herself to be one of the supporting acts for one of her heroes. The 26-year-old emigrated to London especially to kick start her music career. “Stevie Nicks tonight, right?” she asked the audience. “I’m the biggest Stevie Nicks fan ever. Fleetwood Mac is the reason I make music.”
Nina Nesbitt warmed up audiences with tracks, including “On The Run”, “Under” and “Mansion” from her upcoming album, “Mountain Magic”. “I’m very excited to be here, can’t quite believe it,” she said, beaming. The Scottish artist, who has now been a part of the UK chart scene for 12 years, recently revealed: “With this album, I was like, maybe people find it interesting to hear about growing up in Scotland or hav[ing] a female perspective on something that you wouldn’t normally hear about, or living in London.”
Known for her relatable and brutally honest lyrics, Welsh singer-songwriter CATTY, opened American Express presents BST Hyde Park today. The independent pop-rock singer who has previously opened for Lewis Capaldi, brought The Rainbow Stage alive with her catchy sound, including “Maybe All The Rumours Are True” and “I Don’t Miss You (I Just Miss You Mum)”. Bursting with emotion CATTY said: “This is an absolute dream come true, I might cry… I was going to say I’m the biggest Stevie Nicks fan, but I might have some competition here.”
Artist to watch Siobhan Winifred, 18-year-old Londoner Talia Rae, Dutch rising star Stevie Bill and pop songstress Nina Versyp completed the epic line-up.
American Express presents BST Hyde Park continues today, Saturday 13 July with headliner Kylie, MARINA, Anitta, Ella Henderson, Altégo, Tom Rasmussen, ADMT, Fred Roberts, Blusher, Say Now and Grace Gachot.
