Maroon 5 BST Hyde Park review: 'The chance to flex their rock muscles’

On their return to the English capital after a three-year absence, there was an emotional element attached to Maroon 5’s performance at BST Hyde Park, with the aforementioned debut show allowing the band to honour the legacy of Jordan Feldstein.

Adam Levine’s childhood friend and Maroon 5’s long-time manager, Feldstein, who passed away in 2017, dreamed of watching the six-piece perform at the iconic London greenspace, something which Levine noted during the set.

On Friday night, that dream became reality, providing the band with scope to take the 60,000-strong audience on a nostalgic journey with a career-spanning set, omitting material from the 2025 release ‘Love Is Like’ and giving the fans what they wanted – the hits.

Despite embracing a synth-heavy sound with heavy bass lines, programmed beats and an approach that sees a mix of high-profile guests appearing on recent albums to maintain a chart and radio-friendly sound in recent years, Maroon 5 embrace their rock roots in a live setting.

The band have reimagined their polished pop hits into grittier, rock-centric and guitar-heavy renditions, allowing them to showcase their impressive rock chops and utilise the prowess of lead guitarist James Valentine, who, in my opinion, is arguably the most underrated guitarist and certainly the most selfless of his generation.

That wonderful musicianship was on display at Hyde Park as they opened the set with a grittier rendition of ‘Harder To Breathe’, providing a barrage of distorted guitars from Jesse Carmichael and Valentine, Sam Farrar’s driving bass line and thumping drums from Matt Flynn to complement Levine’s soaring falsettos.

‘Lucky Strike’ was a particularly punchy follow-up with Valentine breaking off into a thrilling solo. ‘This Love’ sparked an early singalong with a perfect blend of funky guitars, dynamic drumming and a thick bass line filling out the wall of sound flawlessly before the band, Levine included, closed out the rendition with some spine-tingling solos.

“Hyde Park, holy s**t. This is incredible,” a beaming Levine uttered before acknowledging a man in the crowd he'd accidentally struck with a guitar pick. The six-piece have come a long way since their London debut, performing in front of approximately 40 people at the Camden Barfly in 2005, as he remembered, and after previous dates at Wembley Stadium, Wembley Arena and the O2 Arena, the band have now added Hyde Park to the list of venues they’ve performed at in the UK capital.

A gritty ‘Animals’ was flawlessly reimagined with overdriven guitars and Flynn’s powerhouse drumming. A spine-tingling rendition of ‘One More Night’ was delivered with a funky guitar line from Valentine and tight drumming that anchored the arrangement. ‘Misery’ was ironically joyous, sparking a mass singalong, much to the delight of Levine.

Levine remained in fine form throughout the evening, wowing the sold-out crowd with his falsettos, intricate solos, showmanship and charisma, putting over the skill of keyboardist PJ Morton, stating, "If you don’t know who he is, you should and will.”

There was little doubt about Morton’s skill, and a rendition of Morton’s solo track ‘Heavy’ further underlined why Levine was so effusive in his praise of the keyboardist, who shone with a bluesy keyboard line and a soft vocal delivery. While Valentine, who relished the freedom of playing live with a big, beaming smile on his face, mesmerised the audience and Levine himself with an intricate, yet fuzzed-out, guitar solo. “Give it up for James Valentine on guitar,” Levine said. Not much more could be said about Valentine’s brilliance, but the audience were certainly appreciative of his prowess.

‘Won’t Go Home Without You’ soon followed, sparking a cathartic singalong. ‘Memories’ provided the most poignant moment as Levine paid tribute to Feldstein. The raw emotion and richness of the frontman’s vocals were particularly notable highlights before he closed out the rendition pointing to the sky in honour of his friend.

‘Maps’ and ‘Love Somebody’ were given more muscular arrangements in a live setting, buoyed by distorted guitars, powerful drumming and low-end rumblings on bass, with both tracks relatively calm in the verses before erupting into rock-y jams in the choruses. ‘She Will Be Loved’ left Levine uttering the words “mission accomplished” after urging the 60,000-strong audience to sing to ensure they were heard by everyone in the capital.

A thrilling three-punch combo of ‘Moves Like Jagger’, ‘Payphone’ and ‘Sugar’, wrapping up a spine-tingling performance on a high. Maroon 5 are a band who have created a memorable live experience by embracing their rock roots and creatively rearranging to show off their true musicianship.