With just two cities left, Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” is officially coming to a close in December. This unprecedented cultural event is the highest-grossing concert tour of all time and the first tour ever to hit one billion dollars in revenue (and accomplished that feat before it was even halfway over!). Known for its exceptional runtime, spontaneous surprise songs and being almost completely responsible for a worldwide boom in friendship bracelet material sales, the cultural juggernaut that is Taylor Swift’s most recent tour has united millions of fans around the world in their love for the pop icon. As someone who was fortunate enough to attend (East Rutherford Night 3!), this tour has created countless memories and truly changed the way I look at a concert. In honor of the twilight of the tour, here are five of the most memorable memorable moments that have taken place on “The Eras Tour.”
- “Taylor’s Version” Announcements – The inspiration for the tour itself, Swift has been reliving past albums (affectionately dubbed “eras”) through re-recording and releasing her older music in an attempt to own her masters after a battle with her management. These re-recordings have taken on a life of their own, with veteran fans getting to revisit older albums and their aesthetics and newer fans having the opportunity to experience an era they missed. Swift has announced two “Taylor’s Versions” on her tour, the re-recordings of “Speak Now” and “1989.” The former was announced fairly early on in the tour’s lifespan, during her May 5th, 2023 show in Nashville. The release of the album and its brand new “vault tracks” was celebrated on its release show in Kansas City (rather ironic, isn’t it?) with a brand new purple ball gown for its corresponding set on the show. Speaking of new outfits, Swift used quite a few to hint towards the announcement of the “1989” re-recording, debuting brand new blue outfits for the “folklore,” “Speak Now” and of course, “1989” sets of the show, before announcing the remaster wearing a never-before-seen blue surprise song dress on August 9th, 2023. These shows are fondly remembered as highlights of “The Eras Tour” as fans got to join Swift in celebration of her older albums in the spirit of what the tour is all about.
- The Very First Night – Attendees on March 17, 2023 had no idea what to expect when they entered State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona for the opening night of “The Eras Tour.” Fans were given limited information on Swift’s social media leading up to the show in the form of rehearsal pictures, allowing for speculation on which songs these performances were for. What they got was a 44-song, 196-minute celebration of Swift’s past work, featuring past hits as well as newer songs she had never played live before. Highlights included “Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince” as the opener which has now been etched into swiftie history through its iconic line “it’s been a long time coming,” the ten-minute long “All Too Well” with its full runtime, and plenty of visuals representing the aesthetics of her different eras, from witchy, orange balls of light for “willow,” dancer’s shadows turning into coffins during the haunting “my tears ricochet” and a domino and checkerboard inspired floor for “Mastermind.” Fans’ expectations for the show were greatly exceeded once pictures started flooding social media, and the hype around the tour only grew.
- Special Guests – “The Eras Tour” has had a whole host of special guests join Swift for performances. My show in particular had two: Phoebe Bridgers accompanying Swift onstage for a performance of their collaboration “Nothing New” (a personal favorite of mine) and Ice Spice surprising the crowd by popping up unannounced during “Karma.” Swift has notably had a few guests during her acoustic set, including Jack Antonoff, Gracie Abrams, Aaron Dessner, Hayley Williams and even Sabrina Carpenter a couple of times! Every Eras show has something that makes it special, and the surprise guests only add to that unique feel.