I was lucky enough to have seen Olivia Rodrigo on her first tour, The Sour Tour, and I was content knowing that might be the only time I might see her. Knowing how big of an artist she is, I knew securing tickets to see her again would be next to impossible, considering how I narrowly was able to get a ticket to her previous tour. 

Yet, here I was, trying for tickets again to see her on her Guts World Tour, where she was making a stop in NYC at Madison Square Garden. I was trying for tickets with my friend Amanda, but neither of us had any luck in the presale, so it was on us to try and get them in the general public on sale. If you know what the ticket buying process is like nowadays, you know the only way to secure tickets 99% of the time is to get them in a presale. I was giving up hope when I saw Amanda had messaged me, asking if I’d like to see Olivia at MSG! She had secured tickets for us and I was hopping around my room with joy, digging through my closet for outfits just as I had done two years ago when I saw her perform at The Roadrunner in Boston.

Amanda and I took this concert at a slower pace, showing up shortly after doors and proceeding to spend our time in the lounge, where we took advantage of the free food and the photobooth, of course. As time finally came up on when Olivia would start, we made our way to our seats. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to see much, as I’m quite short and we had floor seats, but, luckily for us, the people in front of us were short too! 

Having seen Olivia on her Sour tour, I knew that we were in for quite the performance. This time, on a much larger scale than the 3k capacity venues she’d been performing at previously. As expected, I was in absolute awe. This tour, she brought along backup dancers, who added an exciting touch to the show, and she also traveled around the venue, get this, on a crescent moon! She wound up going right over our heads, and I have a photo of her Doc Martins dangling right above us. 

Olivia Rodrigo is an artist that understands the art of a performance and encapsulates her songs perfectly, showcasing the dynamic of her artistry with her capability to make an arena feel like you’re in a small venue, like you’re right there next to her screaming along. Her show felt like a group hug along with a much needed therapy session over issues you thought you were over, but turns out they’re still there, even if just in the back of your mind, and all they needed was an Olivia Rodrigo concert to wash them out completely.