05 May Olivia O’Brien’s Sunset SunFest Set

Warming up the SunFest Ford Stage yesterday for Zedd was California crooner Olivia O’Brien. The 18-year-old singer is best known for her track “hate u, love u” with rapper and producer Gnash, which peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The Ford Stage is a massive stage for any young artist, but O’Brien skillfully owned the space on her own (not even needing backup dancers). She swooned to the crowd that SunFest was her very first music festival.

O’Brien has been dabbling in music since she was seven years old, singing and self-taught in guitar and piano. It was her cover of Gnash’s “Disposable” that caught her more ears and attention, eventually leading to the collaboration on “hate u, love u.”

The confident young singer sang “Trust Issues” and “Root Beer Float” for her screaming fans, but root beer isn’t the only beverage worthy of O’Brien’s lovely vocals. She shared a smiling disclaimer before her track “Tequilawine,” admitting she was still too young to drink.

O’Brien also treated fans to a cover of “The Weekend” by her “favorite artist” SZA. “It’s my favorite song to sing in the entire world,” she gushed.

And of course, she played a stripped down, slower version of her hateful/loveable single.

“This is the first song I put out and it gave me everything I have.When I first performed it in my bedroom at 15, I didn’t think anyone in the world would hear it,” she told the crowd before melting into “hate u, love u.”