Olivia Rodrigo Closes GUTS Tour With an Intimate New York City Performance

Grammy Award-winning artist Olivia Rodrigo has been headlining major festivals and selling out arenas worldwide for the past year in support of her critically acclaimed album GUTS. This past week, she brought her music to a more personal stage by performing an “intimate” show for fans in New York City. American Express hosted the event, and tickets were only available to Platinum card members.

This performance carried a special significance for Rodrigo and her fans. Coming off a whirlwind of global success, the performance was a chance for her and her fans to reconnect. She shared stories about the writing process behind GUTS, admitting that many of the songs were written during moments of confusion and growth in her early twenties. “These songs came from a really honest place,” she told the crowd. “Playing them like this, with you all so close, feels really special.” The setlist featured reimagined versions of fan favorites such as “vampire,” “get him back!,” and “lacy.” Rodrigo also confirmed what many fans were expecting: this was the last GUTS performance, and a new album is in the works.

One of our community members here at Trevor, Mazzy W. ‘27, was invited by Olivia Rodrigo’s headquarters to attend and document her and her mother’s experience at the show. Her mother’s team discovered a TikTok of them trying to get tickets after they quickly sold out and directly messaged them, offering them the opportunity to attend the exclusive performance. “I was in shock when they messaged my mom. I thought I was dreaming,” Mazzy said of her experience. Reflecting on the Guts album, she said, “I think the way Olivia Rodrigo captures girlhood is perfect. With GUTS, I really loved how she communicates every emotion through a blend of genres. And obviously, every song is good, making it a perfect album in general.” Mazzy also reflected on the performance of “lacy,” one of her favorite tracks from the album. “When Rodrigo sang it at the show, her vocals were actually insane. She was singing it differently than she ever has, and it really showed how talented she is. She did this with all of the songs too — slightly changing notes throughout the whole show, which was so fun to see.”

Ever since the show, fans have been speculating about what her album title will be and the genre she will focus her music on. After being able to see the performance, Mazzy developed her own theory. “She wore a green dress, and I don't think we have ever seen her in that color. The dress also had sequins shaped like clovers, which I didn't even notice until after. “This made me think that her next album could be called ‘Luck’ because of the symbolism of the dress. A lot of people have been predicting that she is moving towards a more alternative and rock and roll style, but from her performance, I think she's gonna stick with a similar style to GUTS and not completely rock and roll.” Mazzy continued, “Because of how big an artist she has become, I think not only did this help fans in the audience connect with her more, but also for her to connect with us. She said at some point during the show that performing at such a small venue with only 1000 people was very meaningful to her, which displayed her as a very real person, which you often don't see with celebrities. It really showed me how personable she is and how passionate she is about what she does.”

Mazzy concluded that the performance felt different from any other concert and was able to connect with Rodrigo on a more personal level. Olivia Rodrigo’s final GUTS performance demonstrated her ability to connect with her fans on a personal level, despite being one of the biggest pop stars of our current generation. For attendees like Mazzy, the intimate show provided a rare opportunity to have a direct experience with the artist, and also a chance to see her music performed in a new atmosphere. Even though the show marked an ending to an amazing era of Olivia Rodrigo’s music, fans know that what's to come will be just as powerful.