Festival Review: Mumford & Sons - BST Hyde Park, London 04/07/2026
With special guests including Shania Twain and Hozier, Mumford & Sons put on a show-stopping set to a warm Hyde Park for British Summer Time.
The fourth headliner at American Express presents BST Hyde Park 2026 series, it has been ten years since Mumford & Sons played this festival. Armed with a set list nineteen songs long and a series of special guests - the band made it worth the wait.
Starting our day with Divorce - giving us a mix of hazy indie early on the Great Oak Stage. Despite the early set - you could feel their sounds right across the field. Up next for us was the very humbled Holly Humberstone - bringing her unique blend of Alanis Morrisette fueled indie-pop to Hyde Park - rocking a black and gold embroidered top, coupled with black shorts, the Nottingham-born songstress brought hit after hit as she eased through her set. Treating us to new material she played 'To Love Somebody', 'Blue Dream' and more. The invitation to play this event could be seen on her face as she looked out across BST Hyde Park, telling music fans: “It’s such an honour to be here… This is magical!”
“Hyde Park, you’re beautiful!”
A very honest statement from Adam Granduciel of The War on Drugs as they started their nine-song set. A band that I am not familiar with as much as the rest of the line up - but they certainly left an impressions. “It’s a pleasure to be here with our friends, Mumford & Sons. It’s our second time playing the incredible Hyde Park.” The crowd greeted them with open arms and their electric set certainly kept their committed and new fans happy. Their show came to an end with the soft-rock anthem, 'I Don’t Live Here Anymore', to a sea of applause.
Up next was the Mumford lads, a band that holds a large chunk of my heart - especially those first two albums. Many times sat around a drunken table after too many wines with friends at 3am - where you find yourself naturally singing along together. That's the sort of band Mumford & Sons are to me. Kicking off their two hour long headline set in Hyde Park with 'Begin Again', taken from their 2026 studio album, 'Prizefighter'. The opener was accompanied by a flash of pyrotechnics and an introduction from Marcus Mumford. “Good evening my friends, we’re Mumford & Sons and after all this time, in our hometown, we didn’t come to fuck around… one, two, three, four…”.
Then the party started - 'I Will Wait' turned the warm London field into a jive-fest. A blanket of voices from the crowd joined with the chorus, blending nicely into the next track, White Blank Page — which Mumford penned with BRIT-Award winning singer-songwriter, Laura Marling.
“Tonight, I'm going to mostly talk about football,” he joked. “We're stoked to be home. Thank you for being here with us… I swear there’s nothing like Hyde park on a sunny summer’s day” - Marcus tells the crowd with a huge smile on his face.
The night’s first special guest arrived on stage right on cue during 'Rubber Band Man'. The 2026 release was a collaboration with Hozier, so it was fitting for the Irish singer to join the band on stage for the spine-tingling performance. Staying on to duet on 'Awake My Soul' – which Mumford & Sons and Hozier have sung live together previously – Mumford described his friend as “the kindest man in music.
While everyone recovered from that Hozier moment - Marcus tells the crowd 'Happy Pride' as the sun gleamed across the field. The band then proceeded to take the audience on an adventure of their back catalogue - 'Little Lion Man', unsurprisingly, had the pack-out park singing every lyric. 'Ditmas', 'Delta' and the iconic 'Wolf' brought the main show to a close.
But the night was not over yet.
Armed with a five-song encore, which started with the mighty 'Rushmore'. And then came the biggest shock of the night: “We’ve got another cheeky surprise for you,” teased Mumford. “It was a surprise for us too actually…Let’s just give it up for Shania Twain”.
The crowd erupted - as she arrived on stage, looking fantastic in a black bodysuit, black knee-high boots – and fresh from performing at Wembley Stadium, supporting Harry Styles on his Together, Together tour. She joined Mumford & Sons for 'Here' – a newer track that was originally recorded with country star, Chris Stapleton.
Marcus' face said it all, wide with a smile - if anyone was enjoying this moment the most - it was certainly him. “Shania Twain is my f***ing hero, ladies and gents. You don’t understand. You don’t understand, you don’t get it. This is a very big deal for me. And guess what? She played Wembley Stadium tonight, and she’s here. That is gangster”. Obviously, just one song wasn’t enough for BST Hyde Park. “Thanks for having me, honestly, this is so awesome. What are we going to do now? Are we going to jam out something sassy?” Shania asks.
The answer was ‘yes’, as the intro to Man! 'I Feel Like A Woman' began. Creating one of the biggest sing-alongs of the night.
The set ended with The Cave, with Mumford giving one last toast to the audience that have supported them the performance of a last time. “I’m lost for words tonight. All I”m thinking about is the football and Shania Twain… If all of you mother f***ers keep showing up, we’ll keep going”.
This year Hyde Park certainly delivered - Mumford & Sons showed us why they are still top of the list for bands who can do headline shows like this. They turn up and they delivery - time after time. And with that - we continue to turn up for them.
Words by Ant Adams
Photo Credit: Bethan Miller // @BETHANMILLERCO
