Olivia Rodrigo Sings at Spectrum: Celebrating Charlotte Concert Culture
21-year-old singer-songwriter and actress Olivia Rodrigo brings a unique twist to teenage pop. Her spunky, sparkly stage presence combined with her rockstar quality attracts fans of all ages from all over the world. She writes about her struggles with love, self, and insecurities in bold, loud, and bright colors—bringing light to the experiences of an average girl living in the 21st century.
Rodrigo rose to fame through roles on the Disney programs, Bizaardvark and High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. In 2021, Rodrigo entered the music world by releasing her debut album: Sour. The pop world fell in love with this new side of Rodrigo: angsty, girly, and electrifying—with writing skills rivaling Taylor Swift’s. She is now a teen rock staple and continues to gain more popularity as she climbs further into ultimate musical stardom.
The glittery rockstar has been on her Guts World Tour since February 23rd of this year and is on track to play to the rest of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, and more. Although Rodrigo is set to travel the world, that fortunately includes Charlotte, NC.
Rodrigo is not the first to add this destination to her world tour. As Charlotte grows, the city has become a hot spot for concerts and music events of all genres: rock singers like Rodrigo, country artists like Kenny Chesney, veteran pop legends like Pitbull, and alternative stars like Lana Del Rey. In addition to the famous names we all know and love, new artists searching for the limelight make their way to Charlotte. In fact, the inaugural Lovin’ Life Music Fest will take place on May 3rd through the 5th in uptown Charlotte, featuring music from established artists Post Malone, Stevie Nicks, Noah Kahan, and Maggie Rogers, but also several smaller artists like Holly Humberstone, The Aces, and Allen Stone.
But why Charlotte? The answer, I believe, is a combination of population growth, business growth, and new construction. The city grows in a cycle: as Charlotte grows, uptown hosts additional music events, which in turn grows the city’s popularity for future events. These factors put Charlotte on the map. Small and big artists alike make their way to the Queen City to build their platform.
Charlotte has grown into a music mecca. On Friday, March 8, Rodrigo and her team traveled from Orlando to Charlotte to perform a show in the Spectrum Center. Tens of thousands of self-proclaimed “Livies” gathered to dance, sing, and rock out to Rodrigo’s music. Her show featured songs from her two albums, Sour and Guts—she also included a beautiful rendition of her song, “Can’t Catch Me Now,” from the 2023 film, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, and one of her songs from Guts: Spilled titled “Obsessed.”
Freshman Isabella Yunda has been an Olivia Rodrigo fan since 2020, when the singer played a role on HSMTMTS, and attended Friday’s concert with her dad. Isabella stood at the barricade in the pit and was thrilled to see the star live and up close. “I was really excited for ‘pretty isn't pretty’ because it is my favorite song off of Guts, and it had really cool choreography with the dancers,” Isabella said.
During Rodrigo’s performance of her hit song, “driver’s license,” Isabella said, “It was a truly nostalgic moment for her, for me, and for the crowd, who knew every lyric.” Although Isabella enjoyed Rodrigo’s awe-inspiring performance, the highlight of her night was not the show itself. After playing “get him back!,” as well as after the show, Rodrigo walks around the edge of the entire pit section to interact with her fans and show her appreciation. This gives hundreds of people the opportunity to talk to her and give her small gifts. Isabella was one of these lucky individuals. “On social media, I had seen others giving Olivia gifts during her barricade walk, and I knew I would only have this opportunity once, so I had to take it,” she said. She spent time before the show crafting a heartfelt note—an expression of appreciation for the singer, hoping the message would reach Rodrigo’s hands. And her wishes came true. “She was probably a foot away from me and took my card. It was such a surreal moment,” Isabella beamed. “I handed her the card, and she said to my face, ‘Thank you for coming!’ It felt very full circle after being a fan for four years.” When Isabella returned home, feet sore and eyeshadow still glittering, she posted some of her favorite pictures of the concert on social media. As if the personal interaction with her idol was not magical enough, Rodrigo’s fan-run tour account, @livieshq, reposted Isabella’s post on their story.
Another group of CCHS students, sophomores Reese Dawson, Emi Castro, and Bridget Horne, attended Rodrigo’s show. The girls got ready together before the concert, belting Rodrigo’s songs while applying makeup and lots of glitter. And although they saw a stunning two hour performance that night, the girls agreed that one of their favorite parts of the experience was hanging out beforehand. The entire night was unforgettable.
The girls agreed their favorite part of the concert was when Rodrigo floated around the stadium sitting on a glowing, light purple moon surrounded by shiny silver stars. She said hello to fans, sung a few slow ballads, and left viewers absolutely stunned at her angelic vocal performance and confidence from so high up.
Although Reese adored the lavender solar system above her and all of the glittering stars, one moment during the show impacted her on a deeper level. “My favorite song she performed was ‘teenage dream’ because it caused such an emotional response in me and every other teenage girl around me,” she said.
Rodrigo’s song, “teenage dream,” is the last track on her album Guts. The song recounts the growing pains of her teenage years, all culminating on her 19th birthday when she wrote the track. The chorus: “I'll blow out the candles, happy birthday to me / Got your whole life ahead of you, you're only 19 / But I fear that they already got all the best parts of me / And I'm sorry that I couldn't always be your teenage dream,” describes millions of teenage girls’ experiences of growing up. The excitement about what the future promises, yet, at the same time, feeling the beauty of teenage girlhood slipping away as they transition into adulthood.
She ends the song by repeating the line: “They all say that it gets better, it gets better the more you grow / Yeah, they all say that it gets better, it gets better, but what if I don't,” until the melody fades out. Although Rodrigo’s bold and energetic side brings together girls from around the world, her testament to the teenage experience truly unifies their hearts and souls. “Watching all of us cry over a song made me realize how similar all of us girls truly are in our experience growing up,” Reese says, “and watching the montage of clips of Olivia’s childhood while she sang was really something special.”
As well as supporting their school, Cougars go all out to support the growing culture of their city. Although we highlighted these girls’ Olivia Rodrigo concert experience, hundreds of CCHS students make their way to the music district every Friday and Saturday night to enjoy friendship and fun at live music events in the heart of Charlotte. These concert experiences and overall fandom stand as a testament to music’s unique unifying quality for young people in the modern day.
So what are you waiting for? Grab a friend, get out there, rock out to your favorite band, and last, but certainly not least: live your teenage dream.
