Olivia Rodrigo powers through hit after hit in fierce performance: Lollapalooza review
Olivia Rodrigo’s journey on the festival circuit this year has been full of surprise guests, including the Talking Heads’ David Byrne at the Governor’s Ball and The Cure’s Robert Smith at Glastonbury.
She continued the parade of her hero collaborators with Weezer at Lollapalooza during her headlining set Friday, joining the band on “Buddy Holly” and “Say It Ain’t So.” She revealed to the excited crowd that the band headlined the first show she attended.
For those lucky enough to call Rodrigo’s debut at Lollapalooza their very first concert, they surely left Grant Park with an experience that might be too difficult to top. The pop star powered through hit anthem after anthem from her critically acclaimed “Sour” and “Guts” albums, as the crowd sang along at the top of their lungs.
Some pop divas attract hushed audiences who come to hear them hit impossible notes or perform vocal acrobatics. Others dazzle with intricate choreography and flashy costume changes. Rodrigo knows her gift is her poetry, which is why she encouraged the audience to join in on nearly every song. Tens of thousands of fans proved their intimate knowledge of her lyrics, cementing Rodrigo, 22, as one of today’s most impactful Gen Z singer-songwriters.
The numbers certainly don’t lie. Rodrigo has scored three No. 1 hits, including power ballads “Drivers License” and “Vampire,” and biting pop-rocker “Good 4 U.” She performed each one to a fervent reception during her nearly hour-and-a-half set, which included a four-song encore.
Before launching into the lamentation “Enough For You,” Rodrigo admitted that she enjoyed writing music even more than playing music. But hearing the 2021 song alongside the more recent “Lacy,” one can really witness Rodrigo’s growth as a lyricist between her first two albums. Both tunes are about insecurities, but instead of centering a love interest, the latter is more introspective. The titular character is as much a metaphor for an ideal beauty standard than another woman inspiring feelings of envy. It’s that depth that elevates Rodrigo’s catalog, much of which tackles teen angst and the drama of early romance. But there’s plenty of humor, clever lines and curse words appreciated by her young fans. There were quite a few in the Lollapalooza audience who took great glee in shouting the expletive that Rodrigo rhymes with “bloodsucker” on “Vampire.”
Taylor Swift’s style of songwriting is the easy comparison, but Rodrigo’s music also has traces of Fiona Apple influence. And by name-dropping Billy Joel on “Deja Vu,” she hints at where she aspires to go. Like all of those artists, Rodrigo is also a multi-instrumentalist, and she showed off her skills on guitar and piano during the set. She even surprised the crowd by sitting behind the drum kit for a few seconds at the end of her final song, “Get Him Back!”
Rodrigo had great chemistry with her all-women band, who brought a rock edge to her show. Though the audience of co-lead singers sometimes overpowered Rodrigo’s vocals, the notes heard were powerful and crystal clear. Wearing a bedazzled, silver two-piece ensemble, the singer also brought beauty and fierceness to the stage as she posed, kicked and jumped in a manner reminiscent of Gwen Stefani in her heyday.
Rodrigo’s Lollapalooza appearance follows the conclusion of the lengthy Guts World Tour and, perhaps, the end of a career chapter. One could get lost in a rabbit hole of online “OR3” fan theories about her third album. Based on Rodrigo’s track record, it will no doubt be another dynamic dissection of young womanhood from a superstar growing up and growing into the next phase of her songwriting prowess.
Olivia Rodrigo Lollapalooza 2025 set list
Obsessed
Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl
Vampire
Drivers License
Traitor
Bad Idea Right?
Love is Embarrassing
Pretty Isn’t Pretty
Happier
Enough for You
Buddy Holly (with Weezer)
Say It Ain’t So (with Weezer)
So American
Jealousy, Jealousy
Lacy
Deja Vu
Brutal
All-American B - - - -
Good 4 U
Get Him Back!