“I remember my first concert, and that incredible band is actually here tonight to play a few songs”: Olivia Rodrigo’s first-ever gig was Weezer – now she’s played with them at Lollapalooza
Bringing a new entry to the ‘name a better duo’ challenge, Olivia Rodrigo welcomed Weezer onto her stage at Lollapolooza as the pop queen’s ’90s alt-rock love-in continues.
Rodrigo has made her love of power chords and guitar riffs no secret, having previously cited The Breeders, Hole, Sleater-Kinney, L7, and Babes in Toyland as influences, and she’s also helping – alongside the effervescent Chappell Roan – to give guitar solos a resurgence in the mainstream.
Not to mention that hardcore’s new heroes, Turnstile, inspired some shred-friendly guitar choices for their recent shows. Locking horns with Weezer is just another notch in her studded belt.
Guitarists Rivers Cuomo and Brian Bell, and bass player Scott Shriner, got in on the party, playing two classic cuts from the Blue Album, Buddy Holly and Say It Ain’t So, completing a poignant full circle moment for the 22-year-old.
Speaking to the crowd before the grand reveal, Rodrigo asks her audience a question: “I see a lot of young faces,” she says, “and I’m wondering if this is anyone’s first concert tonight?
“I remember my first concert. It’s a very memorable night – I watched this incredible band… and I am so over the moon because tonight that incredible band is actually here tonight to play a few songs.”
Playing a Fender Mustang, her current electric guitar of choice since pivoting from a custom-made purple Music Man, Rodrigo trades vocal lines with Cuomo on Buddy Holly, which she calls “one of my favorite songs of all time,” and her joy is etched across her face throughout the performance.
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Say It Ain’t So is a more tranquil affair. Coumo spearheads the ballad with his custom-made Warmoth Stratocaster, covered as it is with stickers and personality. A supple take on the song’s simple-but-infectious guitar solo helps wrap the one-two in style.
The set comes hot off the heels of Rodrigo’s spot at the summit of the Glastonbury 2025 line-up, a show which left Guitar World’s Editor-in-Chief, Michael Astley-Brown, dubbing her “this generation’s Eddie Van Halen” for influencing a new legion of guitar players to pick up the instrument.
That set saw her jam with The Cure’s Robert Smith, and she recently covered Fontaines DC during a show in Ireland – it’ll be fascinating to see what her next move is.
Some guitar purists may turn their noses up at such an unlikely hero, but when guitar music has – save for the likes of Ed Sheeran’s loop pedal wizardry and a dash of Taylor Swift – been left out in the cold of the mainstream for a while, Rodrigo is turning the tide.
Meanwhile, Weezer are busy rounding off their own full circle moment. Having supported Keanu Reeves’ Dogstar at their first ever gig as a band, they’ve now hired the bass-loving actor – seriously, his Custom Shop Fender is an ingenious beaut – as the villain in their forthcoming film.
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