Olivia Rodrigo Unraveled Tour Opens Strong in Hartford

Olivia Rodrigo officially kicked off the Unraveled Tour on September 25 in Hartford, Connecticut, and by every account it landed exactly how you would want a three-album, no-skip artist's first major arena run to land. Two sold-out nights at PeoplesBank Arena. A 23-song setlist. A stage design built around pink and white wildflowers, rain, snow, and confetti. And a crowd that came ready.

Rodrigo opened the show by literally rising from a field of flowers on the stage floor, which is either extremely on-brand or the most Olivia Rodrigo thing that has ever happened. She opened with "Drop Dead" from her third album before moving through a set that pulled generously from SOUR, GUTS, and her newest material. Wolf Alice warmed up the room before her, and Rodrigo gave them a proper shoutout mid-set, which is the kind of thing that matters to fans who pay attention.

What the Unraveled Tour Setlist Actually Looked Like

With three albums to work from and a two-hour runtime, Rodrigo had to make cuts. She made smart ones. The set leaned into the rock-adjacent energy that her live band brings out of songs that read as piano-pop on record. "All-American Bitch" and "Expectations" worked as anthems. "The Cure" on the rain-soaked B-stage was reportedly the peak moment of the night. "Cigarette Smoke," listed as an honorable mention by Billboard's reviewer, reportedly transformed from a slow album closer into something closer to mid-show rock therapy.

Rodrigo also used three different stage configurations during the night, including a main curved stage, an in-the-round B-stage, and a smaller surprise stage where she performed "Stupid Song" surrounded closely by fans. That kind of staging is a real choice for general admission ticketholders who are trying to get close without paying for a front-row premium.

"Drivers License" still made people cry. Five years out from its release, surrounded by thousands of people singing the explicit chorus back at her, the song holds. Rodrigo has not given anyone a reason to skip it, and she did not try to.

Why the Unraveled Tour Is Worth Tracking

Rodrigo is one of the clearest examples right now of what it looks like when a pop artist builds a catalog instead of chasing singles. Three albums in, she is playing arenas with a setlist that has no obvious filler. That is not a common position for an artist who broke through at 17 with a debut single.

The production design on the Unraveled Tour is also worth noting for anyone who works in live events or visual creative fields. The floral motif runs through the whole show in a way that feels considered rather than decorative. The light-up bracelets given to every ticketholder turned the arena into something that looked like a starfield during the quieter piano moments. These are deliberate design decisions, and they work.

The tour continues across North America through the rest of 2026. If you are going to a later date, the early setlist gives you a sense of what to expect, though she has enough material to make adjustments. Billboard has the full 23-song setlist published separately.

For our readers who are working in music, events, or creative production: the Unraveled Tour is a good case study in how visual language and stage design reinforce an artist's identity across a full evening. It is not just backdrop. It is argument. If you are building toward your own shows or events, [check what's happening in the LA live music and culture space](/events) for context on how local and touring acts are approaching production right now.

The broader takeaway is straightforward. Rodrigo is three albums deep, playing sold-out arenas, and the material holds live. That is the standard. The rest of the Unraveled run will be worth watching to see whether the production evolves as she moves into larger markets.