Olivia Rodrigo’s Unraveled Tour Launch in Hartford: 5 Standout Moments from Night One

The useful part

"I can't believe we're here," Rodrigo voiced a few songs into opening night of her Unraveled Tour Friday (Sept. There were indisputable setlist highs and visuals during the arena tour's launch in Hartford, Connecticut. There were pink flowers everywhere, and somewhere there was a never-ending supply of more pink and flowers in reach of stagehands replacing any that got shuffled away.

How it works

• Olivia Rodrigo perfroms during "The Unraveled Tour" with the first of 2 sold-out shows at People's Bank Arena on September 25, 2026, in Hartford, Connecticut.
• She unexpectedly showed up on an even smaller stage for a lovely "Stupid Song," a performance where she was surrounded by fans like a chorus.
• Christopher Polk/Billboard It takes a certain talent to make an arena show with big pop hits intimate.
• When you've been writing about why you should be listening to Olivia Rodrigo for more than five-and-a-half years and by three full-length, no-skip albums later, you've somehow just seen her live in person...
• Then there are anthems like "Expectations" and "All-American Bitch," can't-miss bits on a setlist that honestly has no misses.

What to take from it

View this post on Instagram There were families of all kinds, with the kind of parent sitting behind you that teaches their children to pay attention to the opening act — a good decision to make here, where Wolf Alice did a fine job warming up the crowd. A starry-looking arena — thanks to the light-up bracelets offered to every ticketholder — echoed with voices singing "I still f—ing love you" with her after two other songs of limerance (a particularly sad "Honeybee," then "Favorite Crime") already had them in their feels. As did she, on the first night of this big, sold-out tour, which by all accounts felt joyous and like it went off without a hitch.

Example or evidence

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• Three stage choices allowed general-admission ticketholders a fair shot at getting close to Rodrigo.
• Christopher Polk/Billboard If you're wondering whether "Drivers License" can still make a grown woman cry five years after first hearing it, the answer is yes.
• It'd be a lie if this pinnacle performance didn't make a list of best moments.

Details worth keeping

Related Olivia Rodrigo's Unraveled Tour 2026 Setlist: (Some of Liv's favorites: "You're a Germ" and "Bros. There are beautiful, gut-wrenching piano-pop moments, like the inescapable "Drivers License," but most of the you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love singer-songwriter's slower-tempo tracks lean into rock ballad territory live on the Unraveled stage.

Related coverage

• Elle: Olivia Rodrigo's Best Unraveled Tour Looks, From the Dissolving Dress to Graphic Tees
• Usmagazine: Olivia Rodrigo's Unraveled Tour ended with a magical sartorial surprise when her finale dress quite literally disappeared before fans' very eyes.
• Wwbl: Olivia Rodrigo showed the secrets she shouldn't tell on opening night of The Unraveled Tour.Rodrigo, 23, rocked a baby blue pleated mini dress while p...