Festival Review: Billy Joel - British Summer Time Hyde Park, London // July 2023
Billy Joel headlined BST Hyde Park in London on Friday night, following a whole day showcasing brilliant singer-songwriters past, present and future.
The 74-year-old’s catalogue of hits make all his shows feel like festival sets - “I don’t have time to play them all!”, he said early on - and his only European show in 2023 was an opportunity for fans to congregate and celebrate.
It was gorgeous day in Hyde Park – as Billy himself noted on stage. “The brightest sun I’ve seen on stage is in England,” he told the 65,000-stong audience. “I hope you bought a lot of sunblock.” But there were other, more recent, treats on offer for fans able to enjoy the whole day.
Alyssa Bonagura opened the Birdcage Stage at 3PM. Her sunglasses were in the style of another piano legend, Elton John. Armed with a four-piece band, the Nashville singer tested the crowd’s voices early, echoing back the title of ‘Jealous’, and embracing the driving new song ‘On It’. There was also a version of Jana Kramer’s ‘Circles’, co-written by Alyssa.
The Great Oak Stage was opened by BOWEN * YOUNG, two solo artists entwined in matrimony and harmonies. They started with new single ‘Water to Wine’, while other tracks including ‘Aurora’ shimmered. Brandon Young shared a fellow songwriter’s advice – “If you don’t have hits, play someone else’s” – before starting Beyonce’s ‘Halo’. Clare Bowen’s haunting vocals took over. The half-hour fulfilled their dreams, with Clare dancing as she stepped off the giant main stage.
Sophia Alexa took to the Birdcage Stage armed with her acoustic guitar, and a vibe that brought to mind pop stars like Olivia Rodrigo merged with country vocalists like Tenille Townes. Opener ‘Hall Pass’ saw her shine while fighting off the wind in her hair, while ‘Stones’ was a poignant personal story. She ended by saying new stuff is coming soon – and Sophia’s a talent to seek out in the future.
Natasha Bedingfield took to the main stage in one of 2023’s most sparkly festival outfits. Her Hyde Park set of originals and covers left an impression. ‘Pocketful of Sunshine’ was apt for the gorgeous afternoon, before a menacing version of 2004 track ‘Single’. She joked it attracted five years of loneliness, so wrote next song ‘Soulmate’ to find one. Her impressive vocals shone while covering Coldplay’s ‘The Scientist’, as ‘Purple Rain’ celebrated another great singer-songwriter, Prince. The end of her set was hampered by tech issues, but it created a delicate acapella opening to ‘These Words’, before a seemingly off-the-cuff stripped back version of ‘Unwritten’ to end her hometown show.
On the Rainbow Stage, Rumer played ‘Bristlecone Pine’ and other tracks from her album ‘Nashville Tears’. She declared British Summer Time “such a civilised event, great music”. One of the highlights was a cover of Jimmy Webb’s ‘P.F. Sloan’, a tribute to one of the first singer-songwriters at an event crammed with the best. It was a tender moment as she spoke about playing it at his funeral in 2015.
Daryl Hall’s hour on the main stage started with ‘Maneater’, and rolled through the big hits. As one-half of ‘80s heroes Hall & Oates, he was front and centre with his guitar for ‘Out Of Touch’, which instigated an audience clap along, before taking to the keys on the right for ‘Everytime You Go Away’, made big by Paul Young. The backing band aided it all, making a sonic sweeping guitar vibe primed for the British summer, epitomised in ‘I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do)’. The final one-two of ‘Rich Girl’ and ‘You Make My Dreams’ proved the 76-year-old Daryl as a good value final support.
Billy Joel came on at 8.05PM, 15 minutes earlier than billed. Other headliners at BST Hyde Park this year include the benchmark for historic tardiness Guns N’ Roses, and modern-day Axl Rose Lana Del Rey. The 74-year-old sent a message – but as the intro music kicked in, everyone was ready to go.
‘Ode to Joy’ introduced ‘My Life’, starting a two-hour ride through some of the biggest songs of our time. ‘Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song)’ bathed the mammoth stage in street and bridge visuals, as the sun blazed overhead, allowing for easy planespotting of the flights overhead in the distance.
“I don’t get to come here that much,” Billy told the crowd. “And I’m not sure when this old ass is going to be back again.” It was just one part of a healthy dose of self-deprecation on show. “Bad news: We don’t have anything new to play. Good news: you don’t have to listen to anything new.”
When speaking about ‘Streetlife Serenade’, the crowd cheered. “Don’t bullshit me”, he reprimanded. “You don’t have that album. No one bought that album.” It didn’t matter, the live version of ‘The Entertainer’ felt like more than a deep cut – as did audience pick ‘Vienna’, and ‘Zanzibar’. “Oh, you know this one? Okay,” Billy joked before the latter, complete with Carl Fischer’s vivid trumpet.
He sang part of ‘Start Me Up’ – The Rolling Stones themselves steeped in Hyde Park’s rich musical history – before ‘An Innocent Man’, which had Billy “paranoid” about hitting the right notes. “I didn’t think I’d be doing this song in my 70s,” he admitted. Forty years later, it still stands out, Billy commanding the crowd before monochrome visuals.
With 65,000 people along for the big ride, there’s a risk that small moments could be lost. Instead, they’re clear as the day - pointing to his bald head in ‘An Innocent Man’, checking his watch in ‘The Longest Time’.
He poked fun at Bruce Springsteen too, after his gig the previous night. “He fell down three times,” Billy Joel said. Judging by the Boss shirts in the crowd, he was not the only one going back-to-back.
‘She’s Always A Woman’ turned the cameras on the audience for some sweet moments, while ‘Sometimes A Fantasy’ was when the darkness was first really felt, and the lights became prominent.
The focus is on the main man’s artistry himself, but he is more than matched by the band who make everything sparkle. They’re introduced sporadically throughout – like saxophonist Mark Rivera after his moment in the sun with ‘New York State of Mind’.
‘The River of Dreams’ allows a different member of the Billy Joel Band to stun. Crystal Taliefero – largely on percussion – steps out for ‘River Deep – Mountain High’, moving to each side of the stage. It felt like a euphoric moment, as the crowd joined along for the journey.
Billy Joel’s only European show had elements of continental flavour – an “un, dos, tres, quatro” intro to ‘Don’t Ask Me Why’, Mike Delguidice singing ‘Nessun Dorma’ before ‘Scenes from an Italian Restaurant’.
We know what’s coming for the final song of the main set – but it still brims with excitement. Billy Joel takes a deep breath, then plays that harmonica part. ‘Piano Man’, at sunset. Something special. The stage is bathed in blue, the crowd singing back every word. It has the intimacy and intricacy of the best songwriters – but it’s also a massive festival moment. The show is in its element now.
The encore comes quickly. ‘We Didn’t Start The Fire’ went viral with Fall Out Boy’s recent history rewrite, but Billy Joel’s version had its own modern-day touch, with images highlighting the cultural and historical lyrics swiped on smartphone screens. Then he introduced his “friend” Joe Jonas.
‘Uptown Girl’, Billy Joel’s only UK number one song, was almost six years old when Joe was born in 1989. Good music is timeless. It was a moment – although you wonder how many grandkids will have to explain one-third of the Jonas Brothers to their aging relatives.
Elsewhere in the encore came a cover of ‘A Hard Day’s Night’. Even the great songwriters pay homage to the past that they have built on. There’ll be countless more Billy Joel covers coming in the future too.
‘You May Be Right’ is a final flourish before the show ends. Billy Joel proclaimed: “Thank you, London”, and waved to the fans who had flocked from across Europe for this. He’s visibly choked up by the reaction, a celebration after two hours of rock and roll. You hope his old ass will visit again.
Then the thousands start to stream out of Hyde Park’s numerous exits, into the night, dazzled by one of history’s best songwriters. Those who have been there all day have had other pleasurable experiences too, taking in music from across the decades. It’s what a good festival does.
There were brief rumours the Piano Man was joining Elton John at Glastonbury this year. I don’t know that would have done justice for either of them. But Billy Joel at Glasto 2024? Maybe.
Words by Samuel Draper
Photography credit: Dave Hogan
