
Olivia Rodrigo is a real rocker. The former Disney Channel star may have broken out with her piano ballad “drivers license,” but ever since, she’s been putting out guitar-heavy, headbang-worthy, scream-your-heart-out rock music like “good 4 u,” “obsessed,” “bad idea right?” and “all-american bitch.” Her references are on point — she once called Bruce Springsteen her “biggest celebrity crush of all time” in a Vogue cover story — and now she’s making use of them live. Below, all the music icons Rodrigo has brought out to perform with her this summer during the GUTS World Tour.
David Byrne
While in New York for Governors Ball on June 7, Olivia Rodrigo brought out Talking Heads front man David Byrne, dressed like a Mario brother who did a bunch of LSD in the ’70s. The two did choreography inspired by Byrne’s signature movements in the Jonathan Demme–directed Talking Heads documentary Stop Making Sense, including synchronized squats, running forward and backward, and some guitar playing.
Ed Sheeran
Next, Rodrigo brought out “one of my favorite Brits and one of the best songwriters of all time,” genre-crosser Ed Sheeran, per Rolling Stone. Sheeran joined her on June 28 at her Hyde Park show in London. The two sang Sheeran’s 2011 ballad “The A Team” together, trading verses. Sheeran wrote on Instagram that he’s “been a fan of Olivia’s since Drivers License blew my mind back at the start of 2021. Both albums are no skips for me, I’m a proper fan.”
Robert Smith
The day after she brought out Sheeran, Rodrigo headlined Glastonbury and brought out the Cure’s Robert Smith. “He’s perhaps the best songwriter to come out of England,” she said during her July 29 set. “He is a Glastonbury legend and a personal hero of mine.” Together, they played “Friday I’m in Love” and “Just Like Heaven.” Later, Rodrigo’s guitarist Arianna Powell told Guitar World, “I swear to God, I started crying,” when she found out she’d be playing with Smith.
Weezer
Most recently, while performing at Lollapalooza in Chicago on August 1, Rodrigo played “Say It Ain’t So” and “Buddy Holly” with Weezer. “I remember my first concert; it was a very memorable night,” she said before bringing out the band. “I watched this incredible band and I am so over the moon because that incredible band is actually here tonight to play a few songs. Will you please say hello to Weezer?” That’s the kind of wish fulfillment others can barely dream of. See you in 15 years when some kid from that crowd brings out “rock legend Olivia Rodrigo.”
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All the music icons she’s brought out on the GUTS World Tour.