I attended the Guts World Tour in Orlando, Florida, on March 5th of this year. The concert took place at Orlando’s Kia Center Arena. The concert was about two hours in length. The opener performs for about 30 minutes, while Rodrigo performs for about an hour and a half.
The opener for my show was Chappell Roan. Chappell Roan is an American singer and songwriter from Missouri. She was put on the map in September of 2023 with her hit song, “Red Wine Supernova,” from her debut album, “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.” Roan and her band played nine songs from her discography, such as “HOT TO GO!”, “My Kink is Karma,” “Pink Pony Club,” “Casual,” “Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl,” “After Midnight,” “Naked in Manhattan,” “Femininomenon,” and of course her well-known anthem, “Red Wine Supernova.”
Before this concert and opener, I had never heard of Chappell Roan and her music. You can imagine the shock on my face listening to her raw vocals, never having heard her sing. Based on her aesthetic, you wouldn’t have expected pipes to come out of that girl, but she really blew the house down. She has a fun aura, stand-out outfits, powerful vocals, and a good emotional connection to her fans and crowd. She is a very talented performer with a charming energy.
Sadly, during my show, she experienced a wardrobe malfunction, having to change out of her extravagant, sparkling purple outfit into a purple shirt from Rodrigo’s merchandise collection. But seeing other photos of her outfits from other concerts on the tour, she definitely has a sense of fashion unique to her and her persona.
The next part of the concert was, of course, Olivia Rodrigo herself, but before she came on, there were candles lit up on the back screen of the stage spelling out “guts.” They slowly melted down to signify when Olivia was going to come out. Most artists use regular clock timers, so the melting candles were a unique take. After a short period, Olivia’s intro video began to play on the screen. It started with Olivia running down a backstage hallway to a door, her hand covered with her well-known “GUTS” rings. She then curled up her hand to perform her iconic knock from the end of her song “all-american bxxxh” to lead into “bad idea right?”. It then showed clips of Rodrigo through a peephole, posing. Lights began to flash as the song finally began, and she started to perform. She began the concert in a silver, sparkly two-piece bra and miniskirt skirt paired with fishnet stockings and Doc Marten platform boots.
Rodrigo’s setlist consisted of 22 songs, including tracks from her album Guts as well as her debut album Sour, excluding two songs, “hope ur ok” and “1 step forward, 3 steps back.” Throughout the concert, she changed into various outfits. She had her all-black sparkly two-piece, a bra and high-waisted bottoms, and a plastic disc dress over top paired with fishnets and her platform Docs. Then there was the bodysuit. It comes in pink and red. She chooses which outfit to wear based on her feelings for the day. For my concert, I got the red bodysuit. Instead of Rodrigo wearing her fishnets, she switched things up and wore dazzling star themed stockings. Her last outfit for the concert was her encore outfit. Rodrigo wore a white tank top with a saying on it, different to each show, with a bright red bra underneath. Her tank top for my show said, “I’m down.” She paired the tank with sparkling silver, high-waisted bottoms. Olivia topped off the outfit with the star stockings and, of course, her platform Docs.
In the middle point of the concert, Rodrigo had a moon that she sat on as she sang her songs “logical” and “enough for you” as she went around the entire arena. During this time, Olivia was very interactive with the crowd. As the moon went up and down, she waved and greeted each section, low and high. While performing her song “making the bed,” Rodrigo laid on the stage as a platform arose underneath her to mimic her lying on a bed. For the last portion of the concert, Olivia laid on the stage, this time facing it. The screen cut to a view from underneath the stage, looking up at her through what looks like glass.
At the end of the concert, Olivia said goodbye and walked off stage. The crowd did not realize it is the “end.” Everyone began chanting Rodrigo’s name, pleading for her to come back out, as she had not yet performed two of her most popular songs. Olivia then came back out in her encore ensemble after an outfit change. She then performed her hits “good 4 u” and “get him back!”. During “get him back!” Rodrigo used a blazing red megaphone to sing. Afterward, she went down into the pit areas and walked through, receiving gifts and giving love to her fans through hugs and conversation.
Throughout the concert, the energy given was spectacular, not just from Rodrigo but her band and dancers, as well. At no point did they give the impression that they were tired and like they weren’t having fun performing. Details like the bed, moon, and see-through stage, were fun expressions of her music and how she sees it, and it was captivating. Having individuality in performance and it being amazingly eccentric is hard to come by nowadays. Olivia brings new and intriguing ideas to the table, which many other artists would not have even thought of. Not to mention, Olivia’s vocals, in my opinion, were better live than on recording. Witnessing her easily belt out songs like “driver’s license” and “vampire” brought chills to my spine. Overall, the concert was remarkable. It has been my favorite concert I have been to so far. I believe anyone could enjoy themselves at an Olivia Rodrigo concert, even without knowing or liking her music, because of the visual amusement that the concert encompassed and the vivacity and character everyone involved brought forth.
I give the Guts World Tour a 5-star rating.
