British Summer Time at Hyde Park Day 2 review

Image: BST Hyde Park 

British Summer Time took over from Wireless and Hard Rock Calling as Hyde Park’s annual music festival in recent years. While Wireless may have taken the majority of the dance and urban crowd over to Finsbury Park, there’s still plenty on offer when we arrive on the first Saturday of the run to a rare sunny vista. 

Blood Orange is naturally superb, an increasingly riveting proposition with his slick blend of ‘80s soul, R&B and Nile Rodgers licks— even more so when joined on stage by ongoing collaborator Kindness.

Poliça live up to the quality of their records on the Barclaycard stage with a spirited performance, while retro funk-rockers Khruangnbin draw a small but rapturous crowd on the Summer Stage with their laid-back grooves. 

Jamie XX’s straight-up DJ set feels a little at odds with the rest of the main stage line-up, but there’s no denying his skill and diverse programming. There’s some particularly pleasing about hearing him thump out garage and techno in the middle of London’s billionaire-banked royal park: a feeling of underground subversion which has possibly not been felt here since Daft Punk in 2007.

It’s also a timely reminder of his impressive achievements and consistent quality since The XX dropped their debut 11 years ago. Amidst all the hype of his own solo album, we all forgot about his superb Gil Scott-Heron rework record, from which 'I’ll Take Care Of U' gets a most welcome airing.

But look, I’m really just here to extol the manifold virtues of Kendrick Lamar to you. Somehow he has managed to elevate his live game to even loftier heights than the incredible bar we witnessed him set at Wireless last year. His arrival on stage is greeted by a solid minute of rapturous crowd appreciation, his attempts to begin halted by his overwhelmed response to the reception.

Diving straight into an acapella snippet of 'For Free?', we’re immediately reminded of his defiance of convention and his utter peerlessness. Who else could get away with beginning a concert with the immortal line “this, dick, ain’t free” and have it shouted in tandem by thousands? Who else could begin a concert with a jazz scat album interlude? 

His performance at Wireless last year featured just three tracks from his instant-classic To Pimp A Butterfly - somewhat surprising and disappointing consider it had already been out for four months. Thankfully there’s more on show this time round, the gorgeous vocal harmonies of 'Complexion (A Zulu Love)' and 'These Walls' making for particularly rousing singalongs.

There’s an elevated sense of showmanship from him and his incredibly tight and talented band compared to last year too. Key tracks are carefully honed in structure and delivery to ensure maximum impact — such as when he invites us to repeat the bridge from 'm.A.A.d city' four times as a crescendo before unleashing a torrent of grinding metal energy and subsequent moshing. 

His lyrical dexterity is breathless and as inch-perfect as on record with the ever-changing cadence and flow of tracks like 'Alright' (listen below). His command of the crowd is unparalleled.

It’s an absolutely faultless performance and one that once again makes us feel lucky to be alive in a time when he’s performing. He is absolutely head and shoulders above anyone else, and witnessing his life-affirming, breathtaking live show is affirmation that we’re very much dealing with the complete package here.

Kendrick followed by Florence & The Machine is one of those weird pairings that seem to be the norm in London these days. He was followed by Avicii last year at Wireless, who are taking a similarly chalk and cheese approach this time round.

Despite the usual sound restrictions in Hyde Park, the quality of sound there seems to be getting better, every word of Kendrick’s set audible and discernible and a good chunk of bass down in the front section where we were.

A shout should also go to British Summer Time for seemingly spending more on production that most of these mainstream festivals tend to, with huge film set trees and branches bordering the stage and all bars on site given a more visually appealing and diverse look. A great day out all in all.

Like this? Scope our Five of the best at Wireless Festival