advertisement
Billboard is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2023 Billboard Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
advertisement
Popular
Latest News
advertisement
BILLBOARD CANADA FYI
A weekly briefing on what matters in the music industry
By signing up you agree to Billboard Canada’s privacy policy.
advertisement
advertisement
Courtesy of Osheaga
Olivia Rodrigo
Concerts
Olivia Rodrigo Plays the Final Concert of the Guts Tour at Montreal's Osheaga Festival
The pop star closed out the festival's third night with a special throwback and a hint at her next album, delivering her signature blend of ballads and pop-rock anthems while bidding her Guts era farewell.
1h
The Guts era is over.
After more than a year on the road, Olivia Rodrigo capped off her Guts Tour in Montreal last night (Aug. 3) with a headlining set during the third and final night of Osheaga Festival.
It was a celebratory night, capping off a monumental tour that won the singer the title of Touring Artist of the Year as part of Billboard's Live Music Summit last year. She paid tribute to her band, her crew, and most importantly her fans. At the end of the show, she also seemed to tease what could be her next move.
advertisement
Fans noticed the red crop top she sported during her encore, emblazoned with a big bedazzled "3" — perhaps signalling her third studio album. Marking the end an era, she eagerly descended into the audience to hand out her Guts rings — even dropping one out of excitement. She giddily hit the snares and cymbals onstage with drumsticks before elatedly tossing them into the crowd.
Rodrigo has made headlines throughout the rock-themed tour with her special guests, including rocking out with Weezer the same weekend as Osheaga at Lollapalooza. This show, instead, was all about her. But Rodrigo still had plenty of surprises.
"I'm feeling especially nostalgic tonight considering it's the last show of the Guts Tour. We don't normally perform this one but I thought maybe we'd do a throwback to where it all started?" she explained before launching into "All I Want," one of her first ever songs released from 2019's High School Musical: The Musical: The Series soundtrack.
The singer delivered a perfect balance of pop-rock anthems and ballads throughout the night, kicking off on the more intense side with "Obsessed" and "Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl." "Vampire" combined both, with its anthemic crescendo. With tens of thousands of festival goers singing in unison, every lyric was crystal clear and perfectly audible, even from behind the stage.
advertisement
"Did we save the best show for last?" she quickly asked the crowd.
The engagement remained high even in the downtempo moments, such as the massive breakup hit "Drivers License" and the ballad "Happier," during which phone flashlights illuminated the entire festival grounds. Rodrigo's musicianship was also on full display. She played piano during "Drivers License" and electric guitar for "Enough For You," which she revealed was her favourite song she's ever written.
The Guts singer later dedicated "So American" to everyone in the crowd who's actively in love and followed it up with "Deja Vu," which the crowd essentially sang backup for, almost louder than the singer herself.
The final leg of her set was similar to the first, with upbeat rock tracks "Brutal" and "Good 4 U" as flames lit up the stage.
"I need you to get really angry and when I say "go," I need you to scream so f--ing loud and let it all go. Can you do it for me?" she asked in a breakdown during "All-American Bitch," asking everyone to think of someone or something they hate. The screams were deafening, before becoming an ovation. Then the whole crowd was jumping up and down with her.
advertisement
Rodrigo climbed atop a small stage rig to perform her last song "Get Him Back!" with a red megaphone in hand and later closed out the song from centre stage as sparks shot up from each side and rained down from above.
That’s when she gave out her rings and tossed her drumsticks — leaving the Guts era where it belongs: in the hands of her fans.
keep readingShow less
advertisement
Popular
advertisement
Published by ARTSHOUSE MEDIA GROUP (AMG) under license from Billboard Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Media Corporation.
advertisement