The morning of the Guts World Tour’s first night at Madison Square Garden, a perplexing, 4.8-level earthquake tore through New York City. Minutes later, the famed arena tweeted from its official account, “that was just the earth prepping for Olivia Rodrigo tonight.”
That was exactly right, as far as the 21-year-old pop star’s fans were concerned. More than 14,000 of them showed up in purple-hued, sequined droves to watch Rodrigo make her debut at one of the country’s biggest career milestone-marking venues Friday night (April 5), something that’s been a long time coming for the star since she found near-instant global success with Sour in 2021. (Not wanting to “skip steps,” as she told Billboard at the time, the singer stuck to smaller theaters for her first tour in ’22. Now, with a second chart-topping album under her belt thanks to last year’s Guts, Rodrigo is more than ready for not just one, but four sold-out shows at the Garden, the remaining three of which are slated for April 6, 8 and 9.)
Having previously briefly joined Billy Joel at one of his 2022 MSG shows to duet her own hit, “Deja Vu,” as well as “Uptown Girl,” Rodrigo was already a little bit acquainted with the grounds — plus, after being on the road for a month following her kickoff show in Palm Springs Feb. 23, her hour-and-a-half undertaking was already a well-oiled machine by the time she got to New York. Even so, the reigning princess of pop took the stage looking with genuine amazement as her crowd jumped, danced and screamed along to her opening number — “Bad Idea Right?” — making the entire arena pulse, this time without any help from shifting tectonic plates.
From a special guest performance (hello, Noah Kahan!) to a surprise mini High School Musical reunion, see the 8 best moments from the show that followed below.
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Hello, Madison Square
Early on in her set, Rodrigo took a moment to acknowledge the magnitude of the night’s hallowed location, where most artists only ever dream of performing. “This is a very special night — my first night at Madison Square Garden,” she said breathlessly, brown eyes wide as they took in the sea of fans in front of her. “It’s incredible. I’m really excited. Tonight’s going to be so f–king fun.”
The artist’s return to New York — which she later asserted is the “greatest city in the world” — was made even more special by the fact that most of the show’s songs were written there, as she now lives in a Greenwich Village apartment. “I’m very, very grateful you’re here,” she added. “Thank you so much.”
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Girls Your Age Know Better
While singing her Billboard Hot 100-topping Guts lead single “Vampire,” Rodrigo prompted the audience to sing — no, scream — the lyric, “Girls your age know better.”
With a crowd full of girls much younger than her in attendance, it was a small but profound way for the pop star to emphasize to them which suitors to steer clear of — hopefully saving many of the kiddos in homemade T-shirts and facepaint from falling into the same traps she did as they grow up.
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The Breeders Get Their Flowers
Rodrigo’s premiere performance at Madison Square also marked The Breeders’ first show as Guts Tour openers. After their set, before accompanying herself on piano to sing “Teenage Dream,” the headliner made sure to give the ’90s rock figureheads their flowers.
“How incredible were The Breeders?” she said, smiling. “I’m such a huge fan. I remember my life in two distinct periods: before I heard ‘Cannonball’ and after I heard ‘Cannonball.’ I’m so honored to be playing this show with them.”
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The Earthquake of It All
Of course, Rodrigo had to take a second to address the elephant in the room. While flying high over the heads of the crowd on her floating crescent moon set piece, on which she sings the Guts and Sour sister ballads “Logical” and “Enough for You,” the musician quipped, “All I’m thinking is I’m glad the earthquake didn’t happen when I was on this thing.”
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A Mini 'High School Musical' Reunion
In between songs, Rodrigo took some time to interact with the crowd, at one point shouting out a group of elementary-age girls in matching purple dresses. “Look at those cuties! How sweet! I love little best friends.”
Then, while asking whether any of her fans had come to the show with their mothers, the former Disney star spotted her own TV mom: Michelle Noh, who played one of her character’s parents on High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. “Oh my goodness!” she chirped. “That’s crazy — speaking of moms — she played my mom on High School Musical! I didn’t know you were here. Oh my god, that’s amazing. Wow, that is such a meta moment, we actually did not plan that.”
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Noah Kahan Makes a Cameo
Perhaps the biggest highlight of the night came midway through the show, when Rodrigo brought out special guest Noah Kahan for a live duet that fans have been craving ever since the “Good 4 U” singer covered the New England native’s hit “Stick Season” on the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge in October.
“I’ve been looking forward to this all tour,” Rodrigo said before Kahan stepped out. “There’s this artist that I really love, and I found his music about a year ago and instantly became obsessed. He’s an incredible songwriter, an incredible singer.”
After sharing a hug, the two performers both played guitars as they traded lines of the “Stick Season” verses, their voices intertwining in harmony during the chorus. “Noah Kahan, everybody!” Rodrigo cheered as the folk singer exited the stage.
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Happy Birthday, Moa
One of the best parts of Rodrigo’s show was her palpably strong friendships with her band, which is made up of all-female musicians. During a break between songs, she made sure that bassist Moa Munoz — who got her big moment playing the solo riffs to “Jealousy, Jealousy” at another point — got the birthday celebration she deserved by getting the whole arena onboard for a feel-good group sing-along to “Happy Birthday.”
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Carrie Bradshaw AF
Rodrigo paid one last tribute to New York City by taking the stage for encore performances of “Good 4 U” and “Get Him Back!” in a tank top reading, “Carrie Bradshaw AF.”
As the Sex and the City leading lady might say: And just like that… Liv’s first-ever show at the Garden was in the books.