Review: Maroon 5 at BST Hyde Park
With performances from The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift and Bob Dylan, British Summer Time Hyde Park has hosted some of the biggest names in music history since 2013.
With the 2026 edition, BST Hyde Park continues to cement itself as one of the leading festivals in Europe as they bring Maroon 5 to London. Having sold over 135 million records worldwide, achieved 11 UK Top 40 hits, and collaborated with some of the biggest names in the industry over the past two decades, they continue to be one of the most successful pop groups of recent years.
The festival felt like a shot of pure nostalgia that I never knew I needed. This started with a masterclass performance from OneRepublic as Ryan Tedder and the band flew through twenty years of hits in an hour with ‘Apologise’, ‘Stop and Stare’ and ‘Counting Stars’. There were also renditions of chart-topping hits that he penned, such as Beyoncé’s ‘Halo’ and Adele’s ‘Rumour Has It’.
With the crowd raring and ready to go, ‘Good Vibrations’ by The Beach Boys blasted over the speakers as Maroon 5 walked onto the stage before launching into ‘Harder to Breathe’ and ‘Lucky Strike’. The first thing that struck me when watching Maroon 5 was how masterful Adam Levine is as a frontman. With his buzz cut and bleached blond hair, he was oozing aura whilst running up and down the runway, all the while maintaining impeccable vocals and shredding the electric guitar in style as the crowd cheered him on.
With the crowd raring and ready to go, ‘Good Vibrations’ by The Beach Boys blasted over the speakers as Maroon 5 walked onto the stage before launching into ‘Harder to Breathe’ and ‘Lucky Strike’. The first thing that struck me when watching Maroon 5 was how masterful Adam Levine is as a frontman. With his buzz cut and bleached blond hair, he was oozing aura whilst running up and down the runway, all the while maintaining impeccable vocals and shredding the electric guitar in style as the crowd cheered him on.
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Having been one of the biggest pop acts in the world for almost two decades, it’s hard to believe that Maroon 5’s first gig in London was at the Barfly in Camden Town, where they performed to fewer than 50 people. They’re now performing to 65,000 people in Hyde Park.
Adam Levine reflected on this accomplishment and his excitement at performing in Hyde Park. It had been a dream for the band to perform on this stage, but it was also a bittersweet moment as he wished his late manager, Jordan Feldstein, could have been there to witness it. An emotional Levine dedicated his performance of ‘Memories’ to ‘Jordi’ in a heartfelt moment.
During the performance of ‘She Will Be Loved’, Adam Levine wanted the crowd to sing the chorus so loudly that the whole of London would hear and instantly get FOMO. It was just another example of the singer-songwriter’s infectious ability as a frontman, as he can switch the energy up at the drop of a hat and get the audience involved.
The atmosphere was incredible throughout the evening, but it reached a new peak towards the end with the likes of ‘Moves Like Jagger’ — one of the biggest hits of the 2010s, with over 2 billion streams on Spotify alone. Anyone who had been holding back or feeling a little reserved let loose and danced throughout the song without inhibition, feeding off Adam Levine’s showmanship.
This continued into the encore with ‘Payphone’ and ‘Sugar’, rounding off a nostalgic evening full of good vibes and another memorable headline performance for BST Hyde Park.
