BST Hyde Park was a sea of purple last night — the signature colour of Olivia Rodrigo. Charli xcx has green, Sabrina Carpenter has baby blue, Chappell Roan pink. And Rodrigo has made moody lavender all her own. This was her biggest UK show to date – although that will soon be eclipsed by her Glastonbury 2025 headline slot on the Pyramid Stage on Sunday.
But for last night, BST belonged to her as she stalked out to Bad Idea Right? in a spangled two-piece, the jumbotrons laser-focused on her face overlayed a purple filter, pyrotechnics blasting. Rodrigo has so many hits from her two albums – Sour (2021) and Guts (2023) – that she can start strong and get stronger. She performed Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl and Vampire with savage glee, sashaying across the stage and bending over backwards as her guitarist gave it both barrels.
The crowd work was fairly standard affirmations – “You guys, I have a really special feeling about tonight!” – but the audience lapped it up. “Are you ready to have a good f***ing time?” she demanded, before launching into a piano rendition of her rejection-core hit Driver’s Licence. Brits love a singalong and everyone was word perfect.
No one channels teen girl angst with such laser focus as Rodrigo. Even if you’re long past the hormonally charged era of momentous crushes and furious betrayals, her music will catapult you right back. Traitor, Obsessed and Love is Embarrassing really set the mood for the rock equivalent of screaming into your pillow.
Special guest slots have become something of an arms race, especially on Glasto weekend, so it was impressive that Rodrigo’s team managed to get Ed Sheeran (looking positively spiffy for him in jeans and a white tee) out for an acoustic rendition of his 2011 hit The A Team. Of course, anyone under the age of 14 wasn’t born when Sheeran’s song about a crack addicted sex worker was charting, so it possibly went a little over the heads of about 20 per cent of the crowd.
Pre-teen girls make for excellent gig companions, though. There was no barging or bottle throwing, no jostling or flares getting set off. Just sequins, glitter, and a palpable sense of joy. Dads – many with custom t-shirts for the occasion – were gamely raising their daughters on their shoulders closer to the front. Further back, bands of cool mums were forming dance circles while the kids bopped with feral delight, or climbed up any available structure to get a better view.
When Rodrigo instructed the crowd to scream – “I need you to go f***ing batshit, I want them to be able to hear us in Manchester” – it was a moment of such catharsis I was ready to start a mosh pit with a bunch of 10 year olds. For the encore she smashed out Brutal, All-American Bitch, Good 4 U and Get Him Back! leaving the crowd dazed and elated.
Glastonbury attendees, clear your schedules for Sunday night, this is going to be brutally good for you.
