Pop icon Olivia Rodrigo isn’t just selling out stadiums, she’s setting a new standard for how artists care for their teams. While the 22-year-old “Vampire” singer has been making headlines for her explosive performances at BST Hyde Park and a surprise Robert Smith cameo at Glastonbury, it’s what happened offstage that’s turning heads in the touring world.
According to guitarist Daisy Spencer, Rodrigo quietly paid for professional therapy sessions for her entire touring crew during the Guts World Tour, making mental wellness as integral to her show as her chart-topping setlist. Spencer shared the news during a recent appearance on The Stage Left podcast, calling the experience “one of the coolest things that has ever happened on tour.”
© Kevin Mazur“On the Guts World Tour, Olivia and our tour manager Marty Humm made therapy accessible and free for all of the touring personnel,” Spencer said. “I have never had anything like that. And that re-ignited the importance of therapy to me.”
Spencer explained that she’d fallen out of the habit of going to therapy, but having access to a free mental health resource on tour helped her get back on track. “I utilized the crap out of that,” she said with a laugh. “I was going once a week, once every other week, whenever I could. Even during our off time, we still had access. It’s not very heard of. It was the coolest thing ever.”
© Joseph OkpakoThe 31-year-old musician went on to describe Rodrigo as “the dreamiest boss of all time,” not just because of her on-stage talent, but the way she leads behind the scenes.
“To be able to work with none other than Olivia is just a dream come true,” Spencer said. “I mean, she literally is like the dreamiest boss of all time. And she’s literally my boss. I’m nine years older than her and she’s my boss, which is, I think, so cool.”
© Neil MockfordShe also praised Rodrigo’s poise and grace under the intense spotlight of global stardom. “She just has handled the upward trajectory of her career in the most amazing way that most human beings wouldn’t be able to do,” she said. “She’s done it so gracefully and so effortlessly.”
Rodrigo’s sophomore album Guts solidified her place as one of Gen Z’s most influential voices in pop music. But it’s moves like this, prioritizing care, not just performance, that show she’s also rewriting the rules of what it means to lead in the music industry.
