Olivia Rodrigo brought out David Byrne during GovBall’s freshest rock headliner set in years

Olivia’s entire show is a badass, fiery, high-energy rock show that keeps the dream of the ’90s alt-rock explosion, the ’70s punk movement, the ’80s post-punk movement, and the 2000s emo boom alive and well.

Jun 8, 2025 - 22:05

Olivia Rodrigo brought out David Byrne during GovBall’s freshest rock headliner set in years

The “is rock dead?” conversation won’t die, especially when it comes to festival headliners. When rock bands do headline major US festivals, they tend to be legacy acts, and Governors Ball has had its fair share of those in recent years: The Killers, The Strokes, Jack White, and Tool among them. But with Olivia Rodrigo headlining the Saturday night (6/7) of the 2025 edition, they had their freshest rock headliner in years.

Olivia Rodrigo is of course a pop star who had success on Disney before releasing her first album, and it’s not news that a handful of her biggest singles as a pop star have been rock and even punk songs. But if you haven’t seen her live yet, make no mistake: her entire show is a badass, fiery, high-energy rock show that keeps the dream of the ’90s alt-rock explosion, the ’70s punk movement, the ’80s post-punk movement, and the 2000s emo boom alive and well.

Her walkout song was The Go-Go’s’ “We Got the Beat,” which was followed by a high-octane instrumental intro from her band, a band that was as much a part of the show as Olivia herself. She had no dancers, no extravagant props, and only a little bit of pre-recorded visuals; ninety-something percent of the show was made up of Olivia fronting a live band (with a shredding lead guitarist and a gut-punching rhythm section) and that’s all she needed to keep the massive (and mostly young) GovBall crowd screaming in catharsis-releasing approval. Olivia came off as the singer of the band, not a separate entity, and she herself spent the show singing her heart out, kicking the air with rock-star gusto, grabbing an electric guitar and rocking out with the band, and showing off her range by moving to a piano or an acoustic for the ballads. Even more so than her albums already do, her live show breaks down barriers between pop and rock, between stylistic choices that speak to millennial/gen X nostalgia and sentiments that speak to the youth of today, and that’s why she’s so quickly become a generation-defying star. Her music provides something for so many different types of people, and she never comes off as making a calculated attempt to do so.

As soon as Olivia hit the stage, she made sure the energy was high from the start. She opened up with the explosive, St. Vincent-co-written “Obsessed” from the 2024 deluxe edition of 2023’s Guts (aka Guts [Spilled]) and took that into the equally rockin’ “Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl” before going into four of her biggest singles, “Vampire,” “Drivers License,” “Traitor,” and “Bad Idea Right?”. It was instant satisfaction, and she didn’t need to worry about front-loading the set because she has enough fan faves for a 19-song, 90-minute set that had the crowd scream-singing everything back to her. Even the mid-set stretch of deeper cuts and the two ballads (“Enough For You,” “Favorite Crime”) did nothing to stall her momentum.

For all this talk of nods to rock’s past, the most explicit way Olivia did that was by bringing out known Olivia Rodrigo fan and Talking Heads leader David Byrne to sing with him on a rendition of the Talking Heads classic “Burning Down the House.” If you already know and love the song, it was an awesome moment, and even if you didn’t know who the whimsical man in red overalls on the stage was, you’d probably agree that the song fit right in with Olivia’s original material.

After following “Burning Down the House” with Sour hit “Deja Vu,” Olivia left the stage and came back for an encore that was entirely focused on her punkiest material. She changed from the sparkly red two-piece outfit that she wore during the pre-encore set into black leather shorts and a ’70s-punk-fashion “New York City” shirt, and she tore through her four most rippin’ songs, “Brutal,” “All-American Bitch,” “Good 4 U,” and “Get Him Back!”. It ended the show on a note that looked and sounded straight out of a ’90s Lollapalooza, and the crowd only got louder… especially when Olivia asked the crowd to channel all their rage into an audience-wide primal scream.

Before Olivia’s triumphant end to the night, the Saturday of GovBall was plagued by some weather-related issues that resulted in a delayed opening, extremely long lines to get in, and a handful of cancelled sets (plus a 20-ish minute downpour around 6:45 that left us drenched but fortunately cleared up quickly). GovBall wraps up today (6/8) with sets from Militarie Gun, Clairo, Amaarae, Hozier, and more. Check out pictures of day one, including Tyler the Creator, Mannequin Pussy, Mk.gee, JPEGMAFIA, BigXthaPlug, and more; and stay tuned for more GovBall coverage.

Watch video of David Byrne’s guest appearance and Olivia’s full set and see more pictures by Toby Tenenbaum below…

Olivia Rodrigo – Governors Ball 2025 Setlist
obsessed
ballad of a homeschooled girl
vampire
drivers license
traitor
bad idea right?
love is embarrassing
pretty isn’t pretty
happier
enough for you
so american
jealousy, jealousy
favorite crime
Burning Down the House (Talking Heads cover with David Byrne)
deja vu

Encore:
brutal
all-american bitch
good 4 u
get him back!