Olivia Rodrigo opened her Unraveled Tour with two nights at Hartford, Connecticut’s PeoplesBank Arena, backed by opener Wolf Alice. The set ran through the sad love story at the center of her third album You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So In Love, mixing new songs with older hits from Sour and Guts.
Opening With Drop Dead
Rodrigo started the show with the album’s lead single, “Drop Dead,” singing while lying down amid a field of pink flowers onstage. She switched some of the album’s sequencing but mostly stuck to its path from romance into separation.
Serena Joy and Older Hits
She performed “Serena Joy,” inspired by The Handmaid’s Tale, which she debuted last month at her Daisy Chain Fields music festival. Other tracks from Sour and Guts included “Driver’s License,” “Traitor,” “Vampire,” “Good 4 U,” “Favorite Crime,” and “Bad Idea Right.”
Encore Runs Three Songs
The night closed with a three-song encore: “Deja Vu,” “All-American Bitch,” and “Expectations.”
Set List Structure
The full set list runs from “Drop Dead” through “Expectations.” The source does not break the set into sections, so the following list reflects the track order as given, not where in the show each song appeared.
Set List at a Glance
- “Drop Dead”
- “U + Me = <3”
- “So American”
- “Good 4 U”
- “My Way”
- “Serena Joy”
- “Bad Idea Right”
- “Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl”
- “Vampire”
- “Purple”
- “Stupid Song”
- “Maggots for Brains”
- “Traitor”
- “Begged”
- “Cigarette Smoke”
- “Honeybee”
- “Favorite Crime”
- “Driver’s License”
- “Less”
- “The Cure”
- “Deja Vu”
- “All-American Bitch”
- “Expectations”
Tour Dates Ahead
Rodrigo continues the North American leg with stops in Pittsburgh, Chicago, Boston, Montreal, and Toronto. Next year brings three ten-night residencies: Los Angeles’ Intuit Dome and New York’s Barclays Center.
Comparing the Residencies
| Venue | Location |
|---|---|
| Intuit Dome | Los Angeles |
| Barclays Center | New York |
Set List by Album
The set draws from three albums:
| Album | Songs Performed |
|---|---|
| You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So In Love | “Drop Dead,” “U + Me = <3,” “So American,” “Good 4 U,” “My Way,” “Serena Joy,” “Bad Idea Right,” “Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl,” “Vampire,” “Purple,” “Stupid Song,” “Maggots for Brains,” “Traitor,” “Begged,” “Cigarette Smoke,” “Honeybee,” “Favorite Crime,” “Driver’s License,” “Less,” “The Cure,” “Deja Vu,” “All-American Bitch,” “Expectations” |
| Sour | “Driver’s License,” “Traitor,” “Vampire,” “Good 4 U,” “Favorite Crime,” “Bad Idea Right” |
| Guts | Not specified in the source |
The Story of Heartbreak
The set ties together tightly. Rodrigo opened with a song about falling in love, worked through separation, and closed with songs about moving past it. That structure respects both the album’s arc and her fans’ history with her earlier work.
It is a smart way to start a tour.
Source material: “Here’s What Went Down at Olivia Rodrigo’s Unraveled Tour Opener,” Pitchfork.
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.