BST Hyde Park: Stevie Wonder special guests announced

London, Wednesday 18th June: American Express presents BST Hyde Park has announced the support acts for headliner Stevie Wonder on Saturday 12 July, with Mercury Prize winners Ezra Collective set to perform, along with Thee Sacred Souls, Elmiene and Corinne Bailey Rae.

The legendary Stevie Wonder will appear as part of the LOVE, LIGHT & SONG UK 2025 performances, having twice previously wowed Hyde Park audiences.

Dance, No One’s Watching – Ezra Collective’s 2024 album – is an ode to the sacred, yet joyous act of dancing, an album that musically guides you through a night out in the city, from the opening of possibilities as a new evening spans out ahead, to dawn’s final hours as the night comes to a close. Written during a blistering 2023 which saw Ezra Collective tour the world, and become the first jazz act to win the Mercury Prize, Dance, No One’s Watching is a documentation of the many dance floors they encountered. From London to Chicago, Lagos to Australia, dance and rhythm connect us. The songs are a testament to that spirit.

This year, Ezra Collective became the first UK Jazz band to win a BRIT Award (‘Group of the Year’), having been nominated for four awards, have a top 10 album in the UK, be playlisted on BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra, perform on Live Lounge and be nominated for the BBC Sound Of poll. Dance, No One’s Watching is a record that speaks to the unifying power of dance. It is a powerful and distinctive addition to a catalogue that continues to blaze a bold new trail in contemporary British music.

In February, Ezra Collective released their track ‘Body Language’ with Sasha Keable. Bandleader Femi Koleoso said: “The language of the body is dancing and this song is a celebration of this.”

Thee Sacred Souls returned last year with Got A Story To Tell, the highly anticipated follow-up to their breakout 2022 self-titled debut. The US soul group has attracted 9 million monthly listeners and celebrity fans like SZA, Alicia Keys, and Kylie Jenner – and an NPR Tiny Desk performance won over thousands of fans online. Described by Uncut as a “San Diego trio crafting classic soul with a defiant lyrical edge”, Thee Sacred Souls released new single ‘We Don’t Have To Be Alone’ last month – with CLASH describing it as “a moment of soulful grace”.

Oxford-raised singer Elmiene made the Brits Rising Star list and was picked out by none other than Elton John as “one of Britain’s great new artists”. His songs have a freeform sound, touching on R&B, soul and classical music. In December the Guardian wrote that the new EP For the Deported speaks to the current humanitarian crisis in Sudan, “distilling the singer’s hopes, anxieties and fears into song without blunting the reality of the stories at its core”.

R&B singer Corinne Bailey Rae made a remarkable comeback in 2023 with what the Guardian described as an “extraordinary new sound”, writing “Rock, jazz, Afrofuturism… the British singer-songwriter is transformed on this record inspired by Chicago’s archive of Black art”. Black Rainbows was the songwriter’s first album in seven years and picked up a Mercury Prize nomination and rave reviews in the likes of Uncut, Mojo and Record Collector. NME wrote that the album “swings from crunching glam-punk to skronking experimental jazz”, adding: “There are left turns, and then there’s this.”

American singer, songwriter, musician, and producer Stevie Wonder is one of the most celebrated and prominent figures in popular music who, at the age of 12, was the youngest recording artist to have achieved a #1 single with “Fingertips Part 2”, and subsequently the first to simultaneously reach #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100, R&B Singles and Album Charts.

To date he has amassed 49 Top Forty singles, 32 #1 singles and worldwide sales of over 100 million units. Stevie has won 25 Grammy Awards, the prestigious Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, a Golden Globe and an Academy Award. Stevie’s iconic album, Songs In The Key of Life, is archived in the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress, for its cultural, historic and aesthetic significance.

Stevie Wonder joins previously announced headliners for 2025; Olivia Rodrigo (27 June), Zach Bryan (28 & 29 June), Noah Kahan (4 July), Sabrina Carpenter (5 & 6 July) and Jeff Lynne’s ELO (13 July). Expect more incredible announcements soon, for the 2025 edition of the UK’s most anticipated summer event.

BST Hyde Park again brought a hugely diverse range of superstars to the Royal Park in 2024 across three weekends – SZA to Kings of Leon, Morgan Wallen, Andrea Bocelli, Robbie Williams, Shania Twain, Stevie Nicks, Kylie Minogue and Stray Kids.