Toilet sinks are streaked with purple glitter and lost hair ribbons decorate the foyer. Olivia Rodrigo has not yet arrived, but the Hydro already feels like a teen girl’s bedroom. On stage, Guts – the title of her Grammy-nominated second album – is spelled out by towering, melting candles. A soldout crowd, clad in homemade merch, scream when the T teeters and falls; they know it means the show’s about to start.
Expectations are sky-high for the American singer-songwriter’s second UK tour, not least because her original opening night was rescheduled due to ongoing technical problems with Manchester’s new Co-op Live arena. Rodrigo’s previous visit, in 2022, intentionally played to small venues that could barely meet demand; a smart decision she has described as “ultimate practice” in stagecraft, designed to balance out her rapid rise to fame in 2021.
