As The Eras Tour comes to an end tonight in Vancouver, it is difficult to ignore the cultural impact that Taylor Swift has had since beginning the tour in March 2023. During her time touring, Swift has released two re-recordings, one new album, three music videos, a tour film and a book, and this past year and a half has allowed Swifties across the world to make memories that will last a lifetime.
I was lucky enough to see Taylor Swift on her Reputation Stadium Tour in Manchester back in 2018, and, while not a die hard fan at the time, it was evident to me that she was one of the most talented performers of our generation. With The Eras Tour, Swift has taken her performance to a level unmatched by any other artist and, in my opinion, one which will never be seen again. In her three and a half hour set, Swift jumps from era to era exploring and appreciating ten of her albums, and playing a whopping 43-44 songs per show, as well as her ‘surprise song’ acoustic set which consists of between two and six songs being performed each night.
The tour is a celebration of Swift’s 18 year career so far, and creates an atmosphere of joy and comfort amongst fans who gather to make the friendship bracelets, dance around in their best dress or obsess over the Swift Alert app and guess which outfits and surprise songs will make an appearance night by night.
Swifties have consolidated themselves as one of the most hard-core music fanbases ever during The Eras Tour, with some who failed to get tickets gathering (or ‘tay-gating’) outside stadiums to just hear the show. Perhaps the most impressive turnout was in Munich, where approximately 25,000 people sat on the Olympiaberg to peek into the Olympic Stadium.
For me, what is so special about The Eras Tour is the bond it has created between people and the memories which I will hold with me for the rest of my life. I remember immediately calling my friends when Taylor announced the tour in November 2022; in July 2023 we woke up super early to listen to Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) then “survived The Great Ticketmaster War” and got our tickets; January saw the start of bracelet-making and in March we gathered to watch Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour film. By the time we got to May, I had my outfit planned and probably almost 100 bracelets ready to go.
When 2023 turned into 2024, it was “the year I’m seeing Taylor Swift” and then June finally arrived and it was “I’m going to The Eras Tour this month”. Fast forward to 13 June and there I was, queuing for hours outside Anfield in the pouring rain, ‘clowning’ with my friends because it was the 100th show of the tour and passing time by playing a telepathic game of “guess which Taylor Swift song I’m thinking of” (maybe the delirium had hit by this point). Our appearances on BBC North West and Capital Liverpool just seemed like the cherry on top of the cake.
Despite being gutted that ‘Long Live’ and ‘tolerate it’ had been taken off the setlist, I was beyond excited for the night ahead of us. The Eras Tour is a spectacle of a show, with the opening performance of ‘Miss America & The Heartbreak Prince’ being so visually beautiful, the set of the folklore cabin encapsulating the aesthetic of the album and of course, the entirety of the Tortured Poets Departement set aka. Female Rage: The Musical. It’s also an emotional journey; I was immediately overcome with tears when Swift performed ‘marjorie’ but less than an hour later I would be dancing and singing my heart out to ‘Shake It Off’.
I’d say the excitement of the show hits its peak around the time of the acoustic set. Starting in the Australia leg of The Eras Tour, Swift started to challenge herself even more by mashing up two or more of her songs from across the eras during this segment and it led to fans guessing potential mashups for each upcoming show. At my show in Liverpool, she performed a Speak Now megamix of ‘I Can See You’ and ‘Mine’, which, as a lover of the album, I highly appreciated; on piano she sang ‘Cornelia Street’ and ‘Maroon’ which was my top song of 2023!
“I hope I never lose you, hope it never ends / I’d never walk Cornelia Street again” X “And I lost you / The one I was dancing with / In New York”
Just a week later we travelled down to London and went to the opening show at Wembley Stadium. I cannot talk about my experience at The Eras Tour without mentioning Paramore, the openers for both shows. Hayley Williams has an insanely impressive vocal range and the band’s energy got the tens of thousands of people ready for the night ahead.
I had never been to Wembley before, and I think it was a bit of a shock to the system. This time we had seats and were directly at the end of the stage so it felt a bit unreal looking around and seeing almost 90,000 people waving their arms to ‘You Need To Calm Down’ or holding up hearts during ‘Fearless’. A real highlight though was the reaction to ‘champagne problems’. I had seen people timing the applause but actually witnessing it was something else, with so many people stomping their feet, cheering and clapping for Taylor in the middle of her ‘folkmore’ set.
This time I was wiped out by the surprise songs! On guitar, Taylor played what she described as a “mega bridge” mashup; any Swiftie will know the importance of a bridge in any song of hers. The lively combination of ‘Death by a Thousand Cuts’ and ‘Hits Different’ was immediately contrasted by the heartbreaking live debut of ‘The Black Dog’ on piano, mashup up with ‘Come Back…Be Here’ and once again, as if she knew I was there, ‘Maroon’.
Overall, Swift captures audiences like no other and it can easily be said that she has dominated the music industry for the past few years. I am curious to see where she goes next with regards to future tours and the final two re-recordings, but after tonight in Vancouver, the singer certainly deserves a break. For Swifties like myself who cannot quite believe that this tour is coming to end, I think we should all take the advice of Taylor in ‘New Year’s Day’:
“Hold on to the memories / They will hold on to you.”
