Stevie Wonder Lights Up BST Hyde Park with Love, Light and Song (Review)
He’s one of the best-selling artists of all time and tonight, Stevie Wonder brought his joyful catalogue of music – spanning six decades – to BST Hyde Park for the second time. This time, as part of his Love, Light and Song UK tour, he brought Corinne Bailey Rae on stage with him for Everybody Is A Star, a very special Sly and the Family Stone cover.
With over 100 million records sold all over the world, it’s no surprise that Wonder’s appearance sold out. The 65,000-strong crowd, awaiting all the hits, got exactly what they hoped for as Wonder — dressed in a white tunic with stitched portraits of John Lennon and Marvin Gaye — Signed, Sealed, Delivered every single one.
Kicking off with Love’s In Need of Love Today, he attributed the song to the fragility of the world today. “We’ve been through the hate, [but] love is far bigger,” he said with sincerity. “We need — in a time when this planet is too angry — light. So, I want to start off with a song off that you would by now know…” An extra special, and unexpected, cover of Imagine by John Lennon followed.
From there, the setlist exploded with pure Stevie magic: Master Blaster (Jammin’), Higher Ground and You Are The Sunshine of My Life were the first half highlights, with a cover singalong thrown into the mix: You Are My Sunshine (Jimmie Davis). “Are we good? Are we all having a good time? You damn well better be.”
Joining Wonder on stage this evening was Corinne Bailey Rae. Together, the pair performed Everybody Is A Star. “Tonight we want to acknowledge the life of Sly and the Family Stone,” Wonder explained. The 75-year-old also brought key musical family members on stage, dedicating a special Happy Birthday to his 13-year-old daughter Zaiah Morris. Wonder’s son Kailand Morris also took the limelight to perform I Can Only Be Me. Against the backdrop of the sunset, Sir Duke, Isn’t She Lovely and I Just Called To Say I Love You rolled the evening into night, with the audience becoming more lively and excited with every moment that passed.
Then, with one final burst of energy, Wonder unleashed an incredible finale. Superstition, with its big band production, led the way for Always and Another Star – before the star of the show took his final bow.
Supporting Stevie Wonder tonight was Ezra Collective, the Brit Award and Mercury Prize-winning jazz quintet from London. “We are the Ezra Collective and we are here to play some Afro-beat jazz for every single one of you to dance to.”
And dance they did, the crowd went wild from the get-go with tunes such as Shaking Body, Wish I Didn’t Miss You and Femi Kuti Tune emanating across the Royal Park. “In 2018 I bought tickets for Stevie Wonder. I was with all my best mates and we danced to Stevie Wonder all night, and it was the best gig I’ve seen — to this day — in my life,” Femi Koleoso shared. “…It would be an honour to contribute to the dancefloor for one of the greatest musicians of all time… And to be doing it in London.” Appropriately, the set ended with the glorious God Gave Me Feet.
“Turn to the people next to you and say, ‘you make it easy'” – the uplifting energy of Thee Sacred Souls echoed across Hyde Park. The trio – made up of singer Josh Lane, bassist Sal Samano and drummer Alex Garcia – made their London festival debut this afternoon, with Lane even walking into the crowd as he sang. Lucid, Weak For Your Love and There For You all featured, ensuring Hyde Park were primed and ready for the upcoming evening of soul music.
British-Sudanese soul singer-songwriter, Elmiene, has been billed as ‘a rising star in the neo-soul and R&B world’ and has grabbed the attention of judges at the BBC Sounds of 2024 and the Brit Awards Rising Star 2025 category (he was nominated at both). This afternoon, it was clear to see why. In between sampling some of his own thoughtful tracks (Mama, Crystal Tears, Anyways and Someday), the 24-year-old happily riffed Wonder classics, including Blame It On The Sun. “Thank you very much Hyde Park,” he said, humbly. “I don’t know if you lot know this but this day is a very, very important day in my life. This is a day that I get to support my hero, Stevie Wonder. The greatest to ever do it…”
Opening the Great Oak today was a guitar-yielding Corinne Bailey Rae, who has been supporting Wonder on his recent UK tour. A flurry of favourites began the set, including Trouble Sleeping and Closer. New York Transit Queen, she reminded the audience, was written about Audrey Smaltz, a 17-year-old girl who was once the face of Ebony magazine. With a tambourine in hand, Rae delved into her vocals for Put Your Records On. Ending with the sweet melody of Like A Star, Rae picked up her guitar for one final song. “Have a great evening and drink loads of water,” she said. “And maybe I’ll see you later.”
For years, American singer-songwriter, Durand Bernarr, has been offering his soulful vocals to big artists, including the neo-soul star, Erykah Badu. Tonight, he stepped into the limelight for himself – headlining the Rainbow Stage, and London, for the very first time. Pulling on tracks such as Stuck, Whisper and Fist Bump, he joked: “It’s lovely to be playing for you on this hot ass day!”
Having spent his early years living in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, singer-songwriter Hajaj ended up in London (via California, Colorado and Barcelona), where he met producer Aidan Glover, who would go on to produce his album Last Call For Coco. For Hajaj, this was a step unimagined – having grown up in Jeddah at a time when artistic expression was suppressed due to religious extremism. Now taking to the BST Hyde Park stage, Hajaj greeted the crowd with pure joy: “Thank you, thank you. Thank you, Stevie Wonder for having us.”
Performing “songs about my life and maybe yours”, TAMZENE – hailing from the Scottish Highlands – brought her highly-rated Best of Me, Too Many Times and Called You Out to a London audience. The singer, wearing a burgundy maxi dress, thanked fans for the tremendous welcome. “Thank you for joining us in this beautiful little corner of London,” she said. “I hope you’re all wearing sunscreen!”
Also: Soul songstress, Mica Miller, headlined the Birdcage stage, sharing tunes from her upcoming Heaven Knows album; Afro-soul singer LULU., showcased her southeast London sounds and London melody-maker Jon Poppii, opened the day on the Birdcage Stage.
BST Hyde Park returned this summer with more superstars and unique shows. It has become THE place to be in the London summer, a date in the diary for hundreds of thousands of fans every year. This June and July saw legendary artists take to the stage over three weekends with headliners Olivia Rodrigo (27 June), Zach Bryan (28 + 29 June) Noah Kahan (4 July), Sabrina Carpenter (5 + 6 July), neil young and the chrome hearts (11 July) and Stevie Wonder (12 July) taking over Hyde Park.
