Olivia Rodrigo made headlines with their headline Glastonbury set – not just because it was a guitar-heavy rock show that won over the sceptics, but because it featured the biggest surprise of the entire festival: a guest performance from Robert Smith.
The Cure icon appeared onstage with Rodrigo and her band to perform Friday I’m In Love and Just Like Heaven. It was one of the highlights of the festival, but it was especially emotional for lead guitarist Arianna Powell.
“We found out in Nashville when we were rehearsing for Bonnaroo, which ended up getting canceled,” she tells Guitar World in a new interview. “Stacy [Jones], our music director, came and told us, and was like, ‘This is very secret – you cannot tell anyone, but he's going to be joining us.’ And I swear to God, I started crying. Like, I started tearing up.
“Because I'm a huge fan, especially those guitar parts. I love, love, love, love, love, love, love the guitar parts, specifically in those songs, specifically Friday I'm in Love. So I was just so stoked to get to actually play that with the artist.”
A veteran session player with everyone from Halsey to Black Eyed Peas, Powell nailed both tracks, calling on a Kemper to make sure her tones were dead-on for the performance.
Although Rodrigo’s band was a well-oiled machine at this point, you’d be forgiven for feeling just a little bit nervous ahead of performing with your hero, but Smith had some reassuring words when he hung out with the group ahead of the show.
“He was so cool. He was leaving his dressing room door open for us to hang out. He wanted to talk and be social. Through conversations with him, he was just saying, ‘It's just another show.’ And he was talking about how much he enjoys performing, and he loves it every time.
“That really inspired me and my energy for that night. Like, ‘Yeah, it's just another show – and I love doing this.’ The collective energy of the band that day was really infectious.”
Powell lent on her Gretsch Silver Falcon to handle the Cure classics’ lead lines, but heavier moments in the show saw her turning to Charvel and Jackson shred guitars – the latter of which was inspired by Rodrigo and her band’s love of hardcore darlings Turnstile.
Guitar World’s full interview with Ariana Powell will be published later this month.
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