We remember it All Too Well.
It’s been two years to the day since the first show of the Eras Tour, and four months since the last show. Taylor Swift implored us to tell you how the crowds went wild, and we’re here to do just that!
artwork by Tanaya Vohra.
When the Eras Tour was first announced in 2022, Taylor Swift had not embarked on a tour since her Reputation Stadium Tour in 2018. Swift had a prolific output between the two tours, releasing the studio albums Lover, folklore, evermore, and Midnights from 2019 to 2022 and the re-recorded albums Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version) in 2021. Each of these projects achieved critical and commercial success, all debuting atop the Billboard 200 chart and producing four Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles. Despite Swift’s own worry that she was past her prime, she seemed to be at the height of her success in 2022. Naturally, anticipation rose for her next tour announcement.
Swift had intended to embark on a tour in 2020 to promote Lover, but the COVID-19 pandemic foiled her plans. By 2022, pandemic restrictions were relaxing and many artists were returning to the stage. Swift, who experienced the biggest sales week in her career at that point with the release of Midnights, was expected to join them. However, fans and journalists knew that her next tour would not be the standard promotional tour. With so many new songs to perform and so many new fans to accommodate, the scale of the tour would have to be massive.
The Eras Tour was officially announced on November 1, 2022, and ticket sales went live on November 15. Swift described the tour as “a journey through the musical eras of [her] career (past and present!),” which naturally took the world by storm. Older and newer Swifties alike raced to claim tickets, which infamously caused the Ticketmaster site to crash and led Swift to announce additional dates. The tour’s first stop would be Glendale, Arizona, on March 17, 2023. Leading up to opening night, fans went wild speculating on the setlist, stage design, and just how Swift was planning to do justice to all of her then-released albums. Swift kept the details to a minimum before the start of the tour, so all our questions could only be answered when she finally took the stage in Glendale.
Opening Night
To some, the concert was everything that Swift promised it would be. The nearly three-hour long show was divided into ten distinct sets, with nine of these sets dedicated to an individual era of her career. The eras were announced on the screen during set transitions, accompanied by a distinct palette and stage setup, ranging from the green-covered folklore cabin to the purple clouds of Midnights. Swift and her dancers donned new outfits for each era, with Swift’s wardrobe often sampling her music videos and previous tours. During each era, she performed hits and fan favorites from every album. The performances ranged from elaborate, choreographed numbers featuring all of Swift’s dancers, backing vocalists and musicians to intimate, solo acoustic performances. The acoustic set, dedicated to no single era in particular, saw Swift perform “surprise songs” throughout her discography that did not appear on the standard setlist—a necessary touch for fulfilling her mission of taking her fans on a journey through her entire body of work.
Many felt that Swift struck a fantastic balance between performing her newer material while respecting her long standing fans, although many were still left wanting. Swift had released ten studio albums before the start of the tour, yet one of them was noticeably lacking a set in the show. That would be her debut album, Taylor Swift, whose songs would only be irregularly performed during the acoustic set. Even for the albums that were given a set, many felt that they were underrepresented. For instance, Swift only performed one song from her entirely self-written third album Speak Now, and only three from the album that catapulted her to stardom, Fearless. There was also significant discussion as to how the tour would affect her release schedule, and whether new releases would be reflected in the setlist as the tour continued. However, as we’ll see, these questions and debates would not go unaddressed for very long.
Surprise Songs
The surprise songs of the acoustic set quickly became a staple of Swift’s performance iconography. Many fans defined their concert experience by the surprise songs that Swift performed at their shows, and some of us have even built a special relationship with those very songs. The Eras Tour began with two full songs in the surprise set, one played on guitar and the other on piano. Swift also stated during the first show that she would not repeat any song. However, the rules changed over time. Sometimes special guests would appear on stage during the acoustic set, eventually she “reset” the surprise list so that repeats could happen, and she began performing medleys instead of full songs during the latter half of the tour. This made every Swiftie think twice: sometimes the song choices seemed to be hints about Swift’s personal life or a direct message to fans.
In retrospect, the most important choices of surprise songs seem to be her first and last choices: “Tim McGraw” and “The Manuscript,” respectively. “Tim McGraw” was Swift’s first ever single, and “The Manuscript” was the last song she had released, and the two songs demonstrated her growth as an artist during the eighteen years between both releases. They also seem to symbolize the emotional journey that Swift has taken with the Swifties. Another important choice was “The Best Day,” a song dedicated to her mother, which she performed on Mother’s Day in 2023. This signaled to Swifites that the timing of certain surprise songs could be very intentional, which led to much speculation about what each song could be hinting at.
The first major change in the acoustic set came on July 1, 2023. Opening act Gracie Abrams was unable to perform her set as planned. Swift then added a third surprise song with Abrams as a guest performer. She introduced another change on November 11, 2023, when she performed a mash-up of “Is It Over Now” and “Out of The Woods,” two fan favorites with similar subjects. This changed the game entirely, with Swifties increasing their hopes for hearing snippets of their favorite songs. Swift also lifted her rule of not repeating surprise songs on November 26, 2023, in part to create more mash-ups. Again, Swifties went wild. Fans cleared their surprise-song trackers and began manifesting their favorite songs, even if they had already been played. The acoustic set also came with a new rotating set of dresses. She chose from three distinct styles, each coming in different color variations that, naturally, led to speculation on just what she could be trying to tell us.
Gracie Abrams was not alone in joining Swift onstage, and recounting the surprise songs just wouldn’t be complete without naming all the guests who sang with Swift. There were so many guest appearances at the Eras Tour, almost too many to list, but we did it anyway.
“cowboy like me” with Marcus Mumford (March 25, 2023)
“The Great War” with Aaron Dessner (April 14, 2023)
“mad woman” with Dessner (April 15, 2023)
“Would’ve Could’ve Should've” with Dessner (May 7, 2023)
“Getaway Car” with Jack Antonoff (May 26, 2023)
“Karma” with Ice Spice (May 26-28, 2023)
“You All Over Me” with Maren Morris (June 3, 2023)
“seven” with Aaron Dessner (June 17, 2023)
“ivy” with Aaron Dessner (July 1, 2023)
“I Miss You, I’m Sorry” with Gracie Abrams, (July 1, 2023)
“Castles Crumbling” with Hayley Williams (June 22, 2023)
“Us” with Gracie Abrams (June 23, 2023)
“Florida!!!” with Florence and the Machine (August 20th, 2023)
“White Horse” with Sabrina Carpenter (February 24, 2024)
“Everything Has Changed,” “End Game,” and “Thinking Out Loud” with Ed Sheeran (August 15, 2024)
“Espresso”/”Is it Over Now?”/“Please Please Please” with Sabrina Carpenter (October 26, 2024)
“Us”/”Out of the Woods” with Gracie Abrams (November 16, 2024)
“I Love You, I’m Sorry” with Gracie Abrams (December 7, 2024)
First Gentlemen of the Eras Tour
Normally, it would not seem appropriate to include romances in the retrospective article about an international record-breaking tour. But, due to a certain lyric change, fan speculation, and direct reflections in the setlist, we promise it’s worth discussing.
At the beginning of the Eras Tour, Swift had been in a six-year relationship with English actor Joe Alwyn. In the folklore set of the tour, Swift performed “invisible string,” a song with very clear references to their relationship. Two weeks in, Swift swapped “invisible string” to “the 1,” a song about wondering what life would be like if a since-ended relationship had made it. Fans immediately speculated about their breakup. In April, the split was confirmed, inspiring her album The Tortured Poets Department, her first “breakup album” since Red.
Following Alwyn was Matty Healy, lead singer of The 1975. Swift and Healy made headlines on January 17, 2023, when she performed “Anti-Hero” with The 1975 at one of their concerts. Swift was still in her relationship with Alwyn at that point, so fans remained calm. But when Healy was spotted at the Nashville show on May 5 and then photographed with Swift just five days later, things changed. Fans disapproved of Healy for many of his distasteful, racially charged comments that had resurfaced online. He was dubbed “Ratty Healy,” and the couple faced scrutiny for their partnership. Many believe Healy to be the inspiration for the TTPD track “But Daddy I Love Him.” The two split after just a month of dating. Although short-lived, their romance fueled much of Taylor’s songwriting for The Tortured Poets Department.
In the following months, NFL tight end Travis Kelce attended a show in Kansas City. Kelce later said he intended to give Swift a friendship bracelet with his phone number. Although he did not succeed, dating rumors between the two sprouted up in September of 2023. After Swift appeared at several of his games and the two were spotted in numerous outings, it became clear that “Tayvis” was an item.
The relationship made its way into the international leg of the Eras Tour. Kelce attended a show in Buenos Aires. When Swift performed “Karma,” she altered the lyric “guy on the screen” to “guy on the Chiefs” in a not-so-subtle nod to their relationship. After TTPD was released, Kelce’s presence at the tour increased. “So High School,” a song with obvious references to him, appeared on the setlist. Swift also recreated his iconic “bow and arrow” pose during the show. “She’s insane for that,” many of us shouted in unison, although she was far from over. Kelce appeared on stage as a surprise guest during “I Can Do It With A Broken Heart” on June 23 in London. He lifted Swift and carried her across the stage during the song’s lead-up. He also worked with the dancers to “prep” her for the song. His inclusion in the show was unprecedented for Swift, who had never invited a partner onstage. Months after the tour has ended, Swift and Kelce seem to still be going strong.
Pop Culture
The Eras Tour was a treasure trove of pop culture moments. You might be familiar with the trend of TikTokers saying, “I hope she plays…” at concerts, which began with Swifties wishing for certain surprise songs at the Eras Tour. Numerous viral proposals also occurred during Swift’s performance of “Love Story,” and many sports fans shed a tear when Swift passed on her hat to Kobe Bryant’s daughter, Bianka, during “22.”
The London shows were especially notable because of special guests, which included the British royal family. Suki Waterhouse and Paramore also opened one of the shows at London, and Paramore unexpectedly performed their Twilight soundtrack single “Decode” in honor of Waterhouse, who is currently engaged to Twilight star Robert Pattinson.
Another viral moment from the tour occurred on May 13, 2023, when Swift infamously chastised a security guard for their treatment of a fan during the performance of “Bad Blood.” Swift yelled, “She’s fine! She wasn’t doing anything! Hey stop! HEY! STOP!” which became so popular that many fans created a chant out of it during the performance.
During the performance of “We Are Never Getting Back Together,” Swift momentarily holds the microphone to her background dancer Kam Saunders. His ad libs often went viral as he varied them up towards the end of the tour. Sabrina Carpenter also went viral when she was an opener for the tour, as she performed a different, sexually suggestive outro for “Nonsense” each night. There were also many other unintentional moments of the show going off-script, such as wardrobe malfunctions, lyric flubs, and even Swift accidentally swallowing a fly—moments that fans lovingly compiled into “The Errors Tour” online.
Because of the size of Swift’s fanbase, many of our concerns also became public concerns. For instance, when Swift finally changed her outfit for the reputation set from red to gold after 131 straight shows of “repeatation,” the internet went wild. Everyone viewed the change as a hint toward the upcoming release of reputation (Taylor’s Version). Additionally, many also became aware that the Eras Tour ended exactly 1,989 days since the publishing rights to her first six albums were sold to music mogul Scooter Braun. The internet was abuzz with comments on the poetry of that number.
Fan Projects
You’ve no doubt gathered that fan participation was an essential part of the Eras Tour experience. Comedian Trevor Noah once said, “Swifties are like an army of Kendrick Lamars,” which is evident in the numerous fan projects we created.
In “You’re On Your Own Kid,” Swift sings, “Make the friendship bracelets/Take the moment and taste it,” and we took those words to heart. There were likely millions of friendship bracelets that were made across every show, and most of the tour’s concert venues used friendship bracelets in their advertisements.
Many Swifties also made flyers and online campaigns to share a common goal for each concert. For instance, many fans wrote the number 13 on their hands, a nod to Swift’s favorite number and a habit she exhibited during her Speak Now World Tour. Fans also coordinated new chants for the tour. During her performance of “The Archer,” when Swift sings the lyric “Who will stay?” thousands of fans held up signs saying, “We will stay.”
Some fan projects were inspired by individual performances. For instance, fans turned on their phone flashlights as Swift performed the ode to her grandmother, “marjorie.” Many fans also brought in yellow balloons and lit them with their phone screens to emulate the “orb” props that Swift used during her performance of “willow.” Fans also coincidentally registered on Richter scale on May 25 and July 23, 2023, and fans at later concerts attempted to replicate this phenomenon. During the last show of the tour, which fell just a few days before Swift’s birthday, fans coordinated to sing “Happy Birthday” to Swift.
Asides from the ones already mentioned, here are some of the other chants and cues that fans coordinated:
“Cause shade never made anybody less gay!” (“You Need To Calm Down”)
Raising a hand-heart (“Fearless”)
Two quick claps (“You Belong With Me”)
“1, 2, 3, let's go, bitch!” (“Delicate”)
“Take us to church, Taylor!” (“Don’t Blame Me”)
“Fuck the patriarchy!” (“All Too Well”)
“Hey Taylor, what time is it?” (“Style”)
“You forgive, you forget, but you never let it…go!” (“Bad Blood”)
“More!” (“I Can Do It with a Broken Heart”)
“Taylor, you’ll be fine!” (“Anti-Hero”)
“Where you going, Taylor?” (“Bejeweled”)
“Facts!” (“Karma”)
Our personal favorite project is a fully fledged app that was created for fans by fans. Swift Alert became the most popular platform to receive Eras Tour updates outside of the official Swift channels. The app also came with trivia, personal song rankings, and minigames for fans to obsess over while prepping for shows. Furthermore, the app included the “Mastermind” function, which allowed users to guess which outfits, surprise songs, special guests, and announcements would occur at each concert. Points were assigned to each guess, and winners were given real prizes ranging from signed albums to full-blown guitars. Swift Alert was the culmination of our connection and dedication as fans, and we highly recommend downloading this app for future Swift concerts!
Career Developments
Us Swifties have been spoiled beyond measure recently. Ms. Swift constantly released new material throughout the tour, sometimes even outpacing the output she maintained before the tour started. On the very first day of the tour, Swift surprise-released the song, “All of the Girls You Loved Before,” an outtake from the recording sessions for Lover. In May, Swift also released a remixed version of “Karma,” featuring rapper Ice Spice, as a single, along with an Easter-Egg filled music video. That same month, Swift also released “Cruel Summer” as a radio single, finally appeasing fans who have long proclaimed the song as the best track from Lover.
Swift’s output wasn’t just limited to singles, however. Swift also continued her re-recording project throughout the tour, gifting fans with both Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and 1989 (Taylor’s Version) on July 7, 2023 and October 27, 2023, respectively. She also premiered the music video for the vault track “I Can See You” at the July 7 show, which sent fans raving due to the appearance of Taylor Lautner and Joey King in the video. Swift also added the beloved Speak Now track “Long Live” to the setlist at that show.
October of 2023 saw many important milestones for Swift. On October 28, “Cruel Summer” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, over four years after its original release. The following week, Swift replaced herself at the top of the chart with the 1989 TV single “Is it Over Now?” That same month, she also released the concert film Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour to theaters in order to accommodate fans who were unable to obtain tour tickets. The film, assembled from footage of the Los Angeles shows, went on to become the highest grossing concert film in history, and the premiere made headlines due to the appearance of Beyoncé alongside Swift.
Last, but certainly not least—unless you were really displeased with the album—was the release of The Tortured Poets Department. Some fans believe that the album’s announcement was teased throughout the tour, but most of us were too busy fiending over rep TV to pick up on other clues. Swift announced the album at the GRAMMYs on February 4, 2024. The album, which turned out to be a 31-track double album, was released on April 19 along with the music video for its chart-topping lead single, “Fortnight.” Many fans wondered how, or if, Swift would accommodate her new material in the show. At the Paris show on May 5, Swift unveiled an entire new set for TTPD, which came at the cost of some cuts to the prior sets. The creation and rehearsal of the TTPD set was documented in the music video for the single, “I Can Do It with a Broken Heart,” released on August 20. Swift’s last major release during the tour was The Eras Tour Book, a companion photobook for the tour released on November 29.
Like we said, we’ve been spoiled. The total tally is one studio album, two re-recorded albums, seven singles, four music videos, a film, and a book, and Swift herself has reached numerous chart milestones, broken countless records, and won a plethora of awards… all while on an international concert tour!
Impact
The impact of the Eras Tour was far and wide. It became the highest grossing and second-most-attended tour in history, and those numbers only include paying fans who were able to attend concerts. Many other fans camped outside the stadiums to listen and observe with each other. On July 8, 2024, thousands of fans gathered on the rolling hills of Munich to watch Swift perform from afar. Photos of this gathering are, in our opinion, some of the coolest Swift-related photos ever taken.
Swift’s impact on the industry is perhaps the most obvious area to start. Some of the opening acts at the tour, such as Gracie Abrams and Sabrina Carpenter, experienced a huge boost in their popularity following the tour. The tour also likely increased viewership at the GRAMMYs, with many fans tuning in to catch the announcements that Swift teased while on tour.
The Eras Tour also drew awareness to the flaws of Ticketmaster and its use of dynamic pricing. Because the site crashed during the onsale, both fans and non-fans alike decried Ticketmaster for its monopoly over online ticket sales, and legislation has since been proposed to limit the corporation’s power. The crash also meant that many of the original tickets went straight to ticket scalpers. Scalping and ticket reselling also came under significant scrutiny because of the tour. When Olivia Rodrigo announced her highly anticipated GUTS World Tour the following summer, Ticketmaster announced that it would not transfer tickets to users until 72 hours in advance of their concerts in order to limit the viability of reselling. The effectiveness of these measures is yet to be seen, but the Eras Tour undoubtedly shed more light on these issues.
Because of Swift’s omnipresence in pop culture, the Eras Tour also became an unfortunate target. The Vienna shows on August 8-10, 2024 were cancelled when the Austrian police uncovered a coordinated terrorist plot, which could have potentially involved multiple explosives. Swift canceled the dates and explained the decision as necessary for the welfare of her fans. Swifites responded to the cancellation with the #WeStandWithVienna campaign, which resulted in people dancing in the street, trading bracelets, and creating an Eras Tour experience of their own. Chris Martin of Coldplay, who performed in Vienna two weeks after Swift’s scheduled concerts, played “Love Story” as a gesture of kindness to the Vienna Swifties who missed their show.
A tragedy occurred during the Rio de Janeiro show on November 17, when Ana Clara Benevides went into cardiac arrest and subsequently died. Brazil had experienced a record-breaking heat wave during the time of the concert, and concertgoers reported that the venue banned attendees from bringing personal water bottles. Many fans fainted due to the heat and dehydration, and Swift directed her team to pass water bottles to fans, even doing so herself at times. The death of Benevides caused an outcry against the agencies involved in the venue’s management as well as Brazil’s consumer protections.
Because of its massive scale, the Eras Tour truly tested the limits of what many thought was possible for an individual artist and a concert tour as a whole. Swift broke an attendance record in almost every venue she visited, and yet the overwhelming demand for her tickets meant that she could have broken many more. Commentators have expressed the need for greater security, consumer protections, and accommodations for events of this magnitude in the future, and Swifites themselves have speculated on whether Swift would, could, or should ever hope to replicate the success and reach of the Eras Tour again. It’s still uncertain what she has in store for the future, but—trust us—that’s nothing new.
Personal Notes
Melody: Attending the Eras Tour in Indianapolis with my younger sister was easily the best night of my life. She and I have been Swifties since childhood and always wanted to go to one of Swift’s concerts. We spent months looking for outfits and we each dressed for our favorite album: reputation for my sister, Speak Now for me. Our opener was Gracie and we had two great mash-ups of “Cornelia Street” / “The Bolter” and “DBATC” / “The Great War.” I wouldn’t trade that night for the world and I can’t thank Taylor enough for giving me a weekend with my sister where we could just dance and sing. It meant more to me than she could guess. And to all of you, whether you’re a long-time fan or using this as a cheat sheet for your next Tinder date, I hope you got to experience some of the pure unadulterated joy we put into this piece. The only thing that’s left is the retrospective, one last souvenir from my trip to the show. Now and then I reread the manuscript, but the story isn’t mine anymore. It’s yours; enjoy it.
Justin: My mother has always loved telling me that the first song I ever learned all the lyrics to was “You Belong With Me.” It was omnipresent on the radio when I started school, and it became a highlight of my mother’s mornings to hear me sing along in the car. You can imagine how magical and vindicating it felt to hear that song performed live by the woman who has in many ways embodied my childhood. Paramore also opened for my show, which felt equally rewarding for my childhood self. My concert experience was crazy, last-minute, and totally not what I was expecting, yet I still had the time of my life and I’m forever grateful for Taylor Swift’s resolve to perform eighteen years worth of hits in one show. I’ll always remember May 19, or “Stockholm N3,” as one of the best nights of my life. P.S. I staked getting a tattoo on hearing “How Did it End” as a surprise song, and that’s just what Ms. Swift played. I’m still due for that tattoo, so if you have suggestions, send them my way!
edited by Justin Walgren & Kristen Wallace.
artwork by Tanaya Vohra.