Kelly McGrath is no stranger to the BST Hyde Park family. Having played sets on previous years supporting Eric Clapton and The Rolling Stones, it’s always wonderful to welcome her back!

Kelly McGrath is an independent singer/songwriter who in our opinion, is one of brightest stars in country music at the moment! We simply cannot get enough of her music!

Performing on The Birdcage Stage, this was our second time seeing her live! Whilst we enjoyed her set the year she supported Clapton, this set was far superior. Perhaps it was due to the fact she seemed more comfortable up there and now that she is pretty much BST family, it isn’t hard to see why! She also had her daughter and partner in the audience so for her, this show was probably even more special!

Kelly kicked her set of with her song Kites from her EP of the same title. Released in 2018, the same year we saw her support Clapton, it made for a much more enjoyable show being able to sing a long with her in the audience!

A new song called American Dream written for her partner was next. McGrath explains how she fell in love with a London Boy but couldn’t call the song London Boy as Taylor Swift had already done that!

One of our favourite songs that has come out of country music in the last decade is her song You and Me Today! A song with a tragic story attached, she tells us of losing her father in a car accident and that this song is for him. Performed beautifully raw and emotive, McGrath’s vocals were exquisite!

If the emotions from the song weren’t enough to pull at the heart strings, her daughter then said aloud “good job mama”!

A tribute to The Chicks and Patty Griffin (who she cites as her favourite song writer of all time) Kelly performed a cover of Let Him Fly.

Saying how she said she would never play this song live again (assuming for personal reasons) Kelly performed For What It’s Worth. Another emotive and well crafted track.

Closing with All That I Want, McGrath cleverly blended it with Springsteen’s Dancing In The Dark!

Kelly McGrath’s performance was first-class! She is truly an exceptional artist with such breathtakingly beautiful music that it’s a wonder she isn’t more well known! I hope this changes! Often playing in London, I wish to see her on line ups for festivals such as C2C, The Long Road, Black Deer and more.

Check out her EP Kites to hear most of the song she performed at BST.