On their Prizefighter tour, London’s finest folk four returned home for a night full of surprises.
Words: Jack Gwilliam & Elliot Jackson
GRAMMY Award-winning band Mumford and Sons made a triumphant return to the Great Oak Stage in Hyde Park after a decade, having headlined the festival back in 2016. As part of their new album tour, Prizefighter had returned home to the United Kingdom, where it all started for them in West London back in the early 2000s. With a night full of exciting guest appearances and performances, we can confirm that the band did the Great Oak Stage proud.
Having achieved four number-one albums in the UK, it was only fitting that, with Prizefighter joining the lineup, the band would return to perform on home turf. The sun was shining, the temperature was hot, smiling faces all around, topped off with cowboy hats left, right and centre. We watched as thousands had already made their way into the venue, with more pouring in; this was going to be a day to remember.
Starting with the opening acts, Caamp are one of those bands that make extremely upbeat, happy songs that people can enjoy and dance along to; they are very country and feel very much like a band made for British Summer Time 2026. Like the lead act, Mumford and Sons, a banjo goes hand in hand with their identity, making them the perfect daytime act and setting the mood and expectations high for the rest of the day.
Stella Lefty was also an exciting opening act, performing her new viral song, Boston, which has been hitting the ‘hot country charts’ and making its way across all social media platforms. She has an incredible rasp and country feel to her voice, and it was extremely exciting getting to see her perform as a new and upcoming artist; this is just the beginning for her.
Holly Humberstone took us by surprise; as we’d only heard her briefly on TikTok, we weren’t entirely sure what to expect, but she was an extremely entertaining performer on stage. She left no part of the stage untouched as she moved constantly throughout her set. Even when her feet were planted and she took up the guitar, she still found movement and passion in the way she aggressively strummed, emphasising the story she was telling on stage.
The War On Drugs were the final opening act of the day, who warmed up the crowd nicely for Mumford and Sons. Whilst we didn’t go into the event knowing many of their songs, they clearly had a significant impact and draw, as so many people crowded in and were enamoured to see them perform. They had a distinct variety of songs, leaving a memorable impression and prompting us to check them out after their show. Their indie rock vibe felt very fitting and complementary to Mumford and Sons’ folk-rock energy, leaving the crowd ready for what was about to come.
Onto the main event, the audience patiently waited and anticipated the arrival of Mumford and Sons on stage; the band were running late to come on stage, which, after watching the show, we believe has something to do with a major unforeseen surprise that the band didn’t entirely know was going to happen originally. However, despite the late start, the band truly came on and conquered the stage, jumping straight into their first song, Begin Again, the instant their fingers touched their instruments.
The beginning of the set was filled with adrenaline; for the first few songs, it felt as though Marcus Mumford ran around the stage a lot. This really set the tone for the show and made the audience feel as though they should be moving to it. The band put a lot of effort into getting the crowd involved, gesturing for us to clap our hands and become our own instruments to the music on stage. On the topic of instruments, not only did we, the audience, get to play our part, but Mumford also showed his skills and wide range by playing the guitar, drums, and banjo.
Not long into the show, we reached our first collaboration with an artist who couldn’t be there: Badlands, featuring Gracie Abrams. To work around this, however, a very welcome returning singer, Stella Lefty, took her place on stage. She was now up there with Mumford, about to sing to the biggest audience she would have performed to to date. Some nerves were showing on stage, but a sweet moment that stood out to me was Marcus giving her a gentle side hug mid-performance. It was clear that this was the gentle step she needed before she pushed her vocals through and honestly made one of the sweeter performances of the night.
On the topic of collaboration songs, one song that was not affected or changed due to a missing artist turned out to be one of our favourite surprises of the night. Marcus explained they would need help with the next song from a friend, and that friend turned out to be Hozier. As this was the first major surprise of the night, the crowd went crazy; people were screaming and losing their minds as the realisation set in: we were about to hear the full version of Rubber Band Man live.
Hozier joined not only with his voice but also with his guitar skills as he joined the band for this big moment, and they followed up with their collaboration on another song: Awake My Soul. This was a very fitting song for Hozier to join in on, as it focuses on vulnerability, a recurring emotion and theme across Hozier’s discography. You could really tell by the end of their songs that everyone was still shocked. Marcus himself joked how even though everyone else was having their ‘Hozier moment’, he was too, and he went on to talk about how Hozier is one of the most genuine artists who’s always had their back. This back-and-forth on stage really solidified the feeling that it was a special moment to be part of.
After this, the show went on, and while there is a recurring build-up across their songs, with more aggressive strums and greater use of the banjo, it remained lively rather than feeling repetitive by the end. These build-ups often breathed a sense of letting loose, and whether people knew the lyrics or not, it was easy to feel involved, excited, and to dance as the music was enthusiastically uplifting. Many of these build-ups included elements not found in the original recordings; one extremely welcome addition to the show was the use of trumpets. This inclusion made the songs feel more powerful to the ear and feel as though we were hearing the full potential of what these songs could be; this really shone through on previous tracks.
Their final surprise for their audience, they admitted, even came as a surprise to themselves… Throughout their 2026 lineup, they were rumoured to usually begin with the hit song “Here” featuring Chris Stapleton. Yet, it was noticeably missing for most of their show until they welcomed the one and only Shania Twain. As she strutted on stage, they waited for the screams and cheers to quieten before picking up the mic and duetting Here with Mumford & Sons. Following the themes of a very country music set of headliners, she is the perfect addition and blend that tied the show together. One aspect that shone through in all their interactions was the high level of respect and comfort they shared. Both artists exchanged hugs constantly throughout the performance, alongside the biggest smiles on their faces. You could tell, while unexpected that this surprise even managed to happen in the first place, everyone on stage jumped headfirst into their performance together; Shania’s voice complemented Mumford’s in such a unique way that we found ourselves preferring this live version to the studio edition.
After a bit of back-and-forth, Shania joked if they were going to jam now, to which Mumford replied that the song they were about to play was his favourite for sound checks. This song would turn out to be “Man I Feel Like A Woman.” When the riff started playing, the crowd shook the ground. While they were all there to see Mumford and Sons, the audience had no problem with reciting all the words to the song; after all, it is a classic. Shania sang this one, with Mumford joining only now and then. Still, a moment that really stood out to me was how, when you focused on Marcus during this performance, he truly became an audience member alongside the rest of us, enjoying this exciting surprise as it unfolded for him, getting just as excited and irrational as the rest of us.
Before the final song and the end of the night, Mumford delivered a beautiful speech, during which you could see him getting teary-eyed. He thanked everyone who helped make the event possible, then poured his heart out to the audience, expressing his appreciation for everyone who comes to their shows and listens. Leaving the audience with one last thing, “If you keep showing up, we’ll keep going.” This was said with such passion, enthusiasm, and authenticity that it sparked the energy for their final song of the night, “The Cave.”
The stage lights brightened; groups of people hugged and held their loved ones, the audience echoing the lyrics back to the stage as if they were singing hymns. In this moment, there was a huge sense of appreciation, happiness, and free spirit, which was symbolic of the song itself, about moving away from dark feelings and finding personal enlightenment. Fireworks burst overhead in what was a breathtaking end to a beautiful performance.
BST Hyde Park 2026 has certainly left a long-lasting impression. Filled with surprises and guest appearances which ended up giving us three headliners instead of one, it was certainly a night to remember. The artists and atmosphere truly brought out a sense of free spirit amongst the crowd, not just limited to this show; it will show up across all the other nights that the festival has to offer.
BST Hyde Park continues on select days until Sunday, July 12, with appearances by Pitbull and two nights with Lewis Capaldi.
