I've always had a penchant for a problematic musician. Previous kings of my heart include Libertines icon Pete Doherty, Razorlight's white jean-wearing Johnny Borrell, and the 1975 frontman Matty Healy, but after attending Morgan Wallen's gig at American Express presents British Summer Time Hyde Park earlier this month, the 31-year-old Tennessee native is my new favourite musical bad boy.
Despite being fairly new to UK audiences – his biggest hit is the collaboration with Post Malone, I Had Some Help - the country singer certainly knew how to hold a crowd in the palm of his hand, before even stepping on stage.
Stage presence
© InstagramA video followed Morgan as he walked from his trailer to the stage, dressed head-to-toe in white (what is it about men in white jeans?), gesturing arrogantly at the camera and whipping crowds into a frenzy before the first bars of his music strummed out over the speakers.
From anyone else, you might roll your eyes at this showy display, but Morgan's bravado won the crowds over, perfectly fitting his country musician bad boy persona (he was arrested in 2020 for public intoxication and disorderly conduct at a Nashville bar, which allegedly saw him fling a chair from the roof of the bar.)
Morgan's euphoric set was accompanied by explosions of fireworks and cannons of flames, firing up the most punchy lyrics, while BST's huge screens transported crowds to Nashville with graphics of dive bars and country saloons setting the scene for Morgan's whisky and beer drinking tracks.
© GettyCrowd connection
A third of the way through his set, Morgan lamented not being able to connect with the crowd. He left the stage and set up a makeshift stage in the middle of the audience, where he played the piano, accompanied by his bandmate on an acoustic guitar.
"I miss playing in tiny bars because I could make eye contact with everyone there," he said, before launching into an acoustic version of his new song, Lies, Lies, Lies, before playing Thought You Should Know, a wistful ballad dedicated to his mother, apologising for drinking too much and causing her to worry.
While Morgan's audience lapped up his confidence and swagger, it was in this heartfelt, candid romance that everyone became truly starry-eyed over the musician. As he connected to his fans, you couldn't help but wonder if the beer-swigging arrogance is all an act.
Electric performance
Fresh from his acoustic set, Morgan returned to the main stage full of energy for the remainder of the gig, performing I Had Some Help, thanking the crowds for making it his biggest hit yet, despite him not being sure that collaboration would work.
The gig took place on July 4th, with Morgan noting he never imagined he'd be spending the US holiday in London, but he rounded off his performance with a bang, set to Independence Day-inspired fireworks that left the crowd yelling for more.
I have a feeling this won't be the last we see of Morgan on UK shores…
