REVIEW: Olivia Rodrigo w/ Chappell Roan | 3.9.24 @ Bridgestone Arena [PHOTOS]

Olivia Rodrigo
w/ Chappell Roan
Bridgestone Arena; Nashville, TN
March 9, 2024

Review by Philip Obenschain. Photos by Mary-Beth Blankenship.

Few young pop stars are having a bigger moment right now than Olivia Rodrigo, who, in 2021, catapulted into the cultural zeitgeist with propulsive, edgy, and pop punk inspired debut LP SOUR, transcending her teen Disney actor beginnings (as many singers have before her, to varying degrees of success) to become one of Gen Z’s most essential, representative, and relatable new musical icons. In support of that album, she made her inaugural appearance in Nashville back in the spring of 2022, a somewhat intimate and much-hyped first tour which sold out instantly, bringing her to the famed Grand Ole Opry House. A few hit singles, Grammys, platinum certifications, and some unfortunate legal matters later, and Rodrigo returned with one of last year’s most-hyped (and best received) albums in her sophomore effort GUTS, another impassioned, earnest, edgy, and genre-bending collection of bangers which both continued the musical trajectory of the singer’s debut, and also reasserted her status as an essential fixture in the contemporary pop landscape. In support, Olivia announced her biggest tour to date late last year, bringing her back to Nashville this week to headline Bridgestone Arena, along with fellow pop breakout Chappell Roan. Perhaps the first essential area tour of the year, Olivia was even more captivating, energetic, and real in person, and we were thrilled to be there to experience the GUTS World Tour firsthand! Read on for our full review and photos.

I hadn’t been to Bridgestone Arena in a few months, and hadn’t been to a younger-skewing pop show in a minute, but I anticipated the level of impassioned fandom and dedication that I’d be met with at the arena. Arriving a little early, I noticed not one, not two, but four merch stands outside the venue and in the nearby Fifth + Broadway shopping center, where there was also a “Tour Bus Experience” activation themed liked GUTS and set up for fans to explore and take photos with, and crowds of young teen and twenty-something mostly women (and a handful of awkward dads) lined up all around. As a millennial guy in my 30s, I know I’m definitely not Olivia Rodrigo’s target demo (and I also know that the ’90s alt rock and ’00s pop punk influences I love in her music probably sound “retro” to someone around the 21-year-old singer’s age), but as I entered the venue and found my seat, I did notice that her fans seemed incredibly friendly and enthusiastic and supportive of everyone around them, and were a little more varied in age than I was expecting.

First up was Chappell Roan, who, though I know has been making music and growing an online following for a number of years now, I really only got into with the release of last year’s debut full-length The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, helmed by producer Dan Nigro, who’s also responsible for both of Rodrigo’s records (and who I’ve been a fan of since his indie/emo band As Tall As Lions back in the 2000s). Musically, Roan and Rodrigo have a similar vibe and make for a great double bill, but given the personal, confessional, and lyric-forward nature of both of their styles, they’re also both incredibly distinct. I missed the couple of smaller headlining shows she played her last year, so this was my first time seeing Chappell Roan live, and she was absolutely fantastic! With a pretty generous set that covered much of Midwest Princess, she kicked off with dance-primed album opener “Femininomenon,” and kept the momentum going from there, encouraging dancing and singalongs, while also sharing personal anecdotes and asides about her life, inspiration, and small town midwest upbringing. Her band were really great and engaging too, and though stage production was fairly minimum (typical of an opener), the songs were more than enough to speak for themselves. There wasn’t a dull moment in the set, but standouts for me were Madonna-channeling dance pop “Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl,” the heartfelt midtempo “Casual,” and of course viral, anthemic hit and set closer “Pink Pony Club.” I really regret not catching Chappell at The Basement East last year, and I hope I get to see her again at a more intimate headliner soon!

As I waited for Olivia to take the stage, I couldn’t spot an empty seat in the house (this is a hot tour and sold out fast, but I’m also glad huge blocks of scalped seats weren’t obviously left unfilled, as has increasingly become a problem at popular tours), and everyone could barely contain their excitement. Statistically, I imagine this was the first time the majority of the crowd had ever seen her, as the Sour Tour, on which Rodrigo previously played Nashville, purposely hit significantly smaller venues (the Opry House is less than one-fourth the capacity of Bridgestone). Though it didn’t look as elaborate and some production-heavy recent area tours, I admired the design of the stage, with two particularly sloped catwalks on either side, and an enormous screen in the back. And then, met with deafening screens, the show began, with Rodrigo emerging from a trapdoor in the middle of the stage and launching into propulsive GUTS single “bad idea right?,” rocking a sparkling silver outfit (the first of several looks throughout the show) which perfectly caught the spotlight as her excellent band and backing singers were awash in bold blues and reds and purple lights.

Though she definitely straddles the line of pop and rock stylistically and in how her songs are regarded, Olivia’s attitude and taste and aesthetic has always seemed to favor her rock (or pop punk or emo or indie or whatever you want to call it) influence, and the way that she performed only seemed to confirm that, doing a lot more jumping around and engaging the crowd and working the stage like the frontwoman of a band moreso than a calculated, choreographed pop star (though, certainly, there were some moments with dancers and choreo), only reinforcing the authenticity and approachability of her artistry. Within minutes she was playing from the edge of the catwalk, singing parts of “ballad of a homeschooled girl” just feet away from her fans in the pit. And after a propulsive start, which set the tone for the evening (I know she’s young, put the energy and stamina of her performance- especially with how perfect she sounded throughout- was quite impressive), she took it down a notch with another cut from GUTS and perhaps the record’s most resonant tune, “vampire,” which, live, sounded even more heartbreaking and impassioned and powerful, and really showcased Olivia’s incredible vocal talent.

After a few more songs- including her breakout single “driver’s license,” performed on a grand piano and perhaps the evening’s best use of her dancers during “pretty isn’t pretty”- illuminated stars descended from the ceiling and Rodrigo took a seat on a giant, glowing crescent moon, on which she proceeded to slowly drift around the arena while singing “logical” and “enough for you.” These types of floating stages have become pretty commonplace in recent arena shows- especially pop shows- but I’ve never seen one quite like this, which through its minimalist yet beautiful design, its gentle speed, and its relatively low height to the crowd made it feel particularly intimate, as the singer waved to fans and was met with exuberant screams from each section of the packed room. After the moon, I assumed we were done with surprises for the evening, but shortly after, Olivia announced a special guest (who, in retrospect, I should have anticipated after their Bluebird Cafe set a few months ago)- Nashville’s own Sheryl Crow. Do most Gen Z pop fans know Sheryl Crow? I have no idea, but it’s really cool that Rodrigo seems to have a lot of love for artists of the ’90s and ’00s, and after hearing their great duet of Crow’s classic “If It Makes You Happy,” which sounded lovely with Olivia’s vocals, I hope Sheryl found some new young fans!

In perhaps the show’s most intimate moment, after her duet with Crow, Olivia walked to the edge of the catwalk with guitarist Daisy Spencer (who you might recognize as a sometimes-Nashvillian, who we’ve seen with other site favorites like Joy Oladokun) and took a seat on the floor, explaining that she wanted to play a couple of songs in the same way she does when writing them. The pair tackled two SOUR tunes, “happier” and “favorite crime,” both of which I like and have heard countless times, but perhaps weren’t standout tracks from that record for me. But in this format- which momentarily made an arena feel like a living room- they felt so much more earnest and raw and confessional, and I was in awe of Olivia’s ability to convey her feelings so genuinely and relatably, as the crowd softly sang along with every word. Creating a sense of authenticity is something so many artists strive for, but actually being authentic- letting their guard down, writing from the heart, not putting up a wall between themselves and their public persona- is a much more difficult feat, and one that Rodrigo seems to excel at. I’m a big fan of her music, but I don’t really follow her personal life or social media presence or anything like that very closely, yet still, just from the way she performed and spoke between songs and interacted with fans I felt like I got such an effective snapshot of who she is, and I think that true-to-self attitude really makes her an artist with staying power.

That commitment to authenticity also has seemingly led to a few gripes from parents of young children who’ve attended this tour, as, after it kicked off earlier this year, I some a few clickbait-y posts and social media chatter about the GUTS Tour not being kid-friendly. I won’t dwell on that discourse much, but to say Olivia is a young woman, not a Disney teen anymore, and if you’ve heard her music, you’d already not she’s not concerned with censoring it (not that it’s inherently inappropriate, but if there are songs with profanity and sex on the album, you can expect that it’s not a PG show). This show is hardly a hyper-sexual, shocking shed of a former image like some other young, former child stars have attempted; to me, it just felt like a 21-year-old being a normal 21-year-old, and that might mean a risqué dance or two, allowing reproductive health and abortion fund organizations to set up booths in the lobby, and speaking about things relevant to a 21-year-old’s life, which parents may or may not find kid-friendly (personally, I think this show is FINE for fans of all ages, and if you find it to be too much, you should see more concerts).

With as stacked as this set was throughout (both of her albums are chock-full of bangers), it seemed like she would’ve run out of steam by the end, but Olivia saved quite a few of her best, most high-energy songs for last, which kicked off with another outfit change and another trapdoor entrance for SOUR opener and one of my favorite of her songs, “brutal,” which, with its singalong chants and riff-heavy instrumentation ripped even harder live. Non-album single “obsessed” came next, which I was surprised came so late in the setlist, but I could see why- it’s an awesome and fast-paced song, and made for a great segue into set closer “all-american bitch,” which, like the rest of evening’s more propulsive and rock-geared cuts really worked to showcase what Rodrigo excels at as a writer and performer, and how her music feels so distinct from some of her peers, whose reference points can sometimes feel like a more contemporary loop of sameness. There was, of course, one final encore, with Olivia returning to play one last song from each record- her breakout single and perhaps most pop punk song of all, “good 4 u,” and more recent singalong-primed ear worm “get him back!,” which, as a pair, so perfectly sum up the singer’s musical ethos, and made for an excellent finale. After spinning SOUR and GUTS endlessly, I had high hopes for this show, and Olivia Rodrigo absolutely exceeded my every expectation. She’s talented, authentic, genre-bending, a stellar performer, and one of the most exciting young musical voices of her generation, with two near-perfect records under her belt. I can’t wait to see what’s next!

_

All photos by Mary-Beth Blankenship

_

Setlist:

bad idea right?
ballad of a homeschooled girl
vampire
traitor
drivers license
teenage dream
pretty isn’t pretty
love is embarrassing
making the bed
logical
enough for you
lacy
jealousy, jealousy
Can’t Catch Me Now
If It Makes You Happy
happier
favorite crime
deja vu
the grudge
brutal
obsessed
all-american bitch

good 4 u
get him back!