It was the second week of BST Hyde Park, and Friday’s line-up featured even bigger names than the previous weekend, bringing another impressive day of music to one of London’s most iconic festivals

The day began on the Great Oak Stage with Reading band Only The Poets, whose indie-pop provided the perfect start to the day. Frontman Tommy Longhurst was visibly moved by the occasion, telling the audience that growing up just outside London, performing at Hyde Park had always felt like an impossible dream. Songs from their debut album Monumental were warmly welcomed by fans already gathered by the barriers, while All This Time revealed the band’s softer side. Closing with Jump!, they left no doubt that they deserved their place on such a prestigious bill.

Elsewhere, the Rainbow Stage offered one of the day’s biggest surprises in the form of Pedro Santos. The former Here At Last member may not yet have an extensive catalogue of released music, but based on this performance, that feels like a matter of time rather than talent. Performing with a live band, Santos delivered a very strong vocal showing. He moved through songs such as Someone I Don’t Know and The Way You Do before introducing the unreleased Don’t Make It Harder For Me and Crash Out, a pop-rock number that suited Santos’s voice perfectly.

Santos also performed the slower Lady In Red, delivering one of the strongest vocal moments of the afternoon. Another unreleased track, Should Have Known Better, continued to show his songwriting growth, before he closed with I Don’t Know Me, his most emotional release to date.

Earlier on the Rainbow Stage, Bradley Simpson showed exactly why his move from boy band frontman, The Vamps, to solo artist has been so successful. Performing songs from his debut album The Panic Years, he gave so much on that stage; there is real talent in this young man.

Meanwhile, LA duo VOILÀ brought a great energy and electro-pop hooks to a crowd instantly recognisable by the bunny ears worn by many of their dedicated fans. Back on the Great Oak Stage, Ella Eyre still comes across as one of the strongest British live vocalists. Returning to Hyde Park almost a decade after supporting Take That, she performed beautifully. Following surgery on her vocal cords, there were questions about how her voice would hold up live, but Eyre answered them almost immediately. Whether performing her own material or delivering a cover of Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy, she put on a hell of a show.

Jess Glynne followed with a set packed with the songs that have made her one of Britain’s most successful pop artists of the past decade. Opening with I’ll Be There, she guided Hyde Park through hit after hit, including 123, Take Me Home, Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself, These Days and, of course, Rather Be. By the time she reached Hold My Hand, the entire park danced like there was no tomorrow.

While thousands arrived for the headline acts, Maroon 5, and some for OneRepublic, many undoubtedly left having discovered a new favourite. And if there was one artist who seemed destined to return to Hyde Park on a much bigger stage in the future, Pedro Santos made perhaps the strongest case of all.

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Written by Maggie Gogler

Featured image © Sienna Lorraine Gray

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