Gaga aspired to perform her new songs in a more intimate environment than her previous tours, which took place in arenas and stadiums, believing the small bars captured the "raw Americana vibe" of Joanne.

[3][4] Before its release, Gaga announced teaming up with American lager brand Bud Light to perform songs from it in front of very small crowds in dive bars across the United States, marking the "new chapter in her career".

"[8] Gaga and Bud Light's collaboration was advertised with a number of TV spots, which included snippets of previously not heard tracks from the new album.

[9][10] Prior the tour, it was reported that the audience would be made up of winners of an unknown contest, and all shows would be live streamed on Bud Light's Facebook page.

[16] The show, intended to take place in a Las Vegas bar, was later indefinitely postponed and then cancelled because of scheduling conflicts due to rehearsals for the Joanne World Tour (2017–2018).

[17] For Bud Light, Gaga's shows marked the beginning of further Dive Bar Tour gigs in similar small venues with other artists, such as John Mayer, G-Eazy, and Post Malone.

[12][15][20] At The Bitter End, in New York City, Gaga donned a see-through shirt, emblazoned with the logo of tour sponsor Bud Light, and jean shorts.

[13][21] After the concert was over, Gaga went on to the roof of the bar using the fire escape, where she reprised "Joanne" and sang "Angel Down" to the crowd standing outside, who were unable to get in due to the limited capacity of the venue.

After giving a speech about the importance of love and respect, she sang "Angel Down" and changed its lyrics to reference shooting victim Trayvon Martin in the outro of the song.

[21] LA Weekly's Eve Barlow reviewed the concert in Los Angeles, and called it "bonkers" to watch "one of the world's biggest superstars in a room with just 300 people", and appreciated the opportunity to get to see her up close, which was not possible with her stadium-sized shows.

She added that "her set runs through emotions the way musicals move through scenes", while believing that "at the age of 30 she seems to have left some of the poses of her 20s behind, [...] she remains pure theater, a one-woman Annie Get Your Gun.