Where do we even begin to talk about the musical juggernaut that is Taylor Swift? She's Spotify's most streamed artist, the highest-grossing touring female act and the reigning Time Person of the Year, with over 200 million record sales and a string of awards to her name, including four Album of the Year Grammys. Last year, following the cancellation of her planned 2020 Loverfest concerts, she embarked on The Eras Tour – a celebration of her 18 years in the music business and featuring songs from across her career – which has become the highest-grossing tour of all time. After much anticipation the tour finally hit the UK earlier this month (including a new section marking the release of her latest album, ‘The Tortured Poets Department') and has just completed three sold-out shows at the legendary Anfield stadium in Liverpool – and we were lucky enough to be there on night three!
Even if you've watched livestream clips or The Eras Tour concert film, nothing can quite prepare you for the atmosphere of being in the stadium itself. There is such a buzz and anticipation around the place and it's absolutely incredible seeing everyone dressed up in their amazing outfits, trading friendship bracelets and getting excited to see their idol, especially when that countdown clock starts and the intro plays! Their energy and positivity really helps to lift the show, with everyone singing and dancing along – not just during Swift's performance but beforehand as well, including to openers Paramore – and takes the whole thing to a completely different level in terms of building the atmosphere.
However, undoubtedly the key element of making the show what it is is Swift herself. From the moment she appeared from under the giant watercolour fans in her iconic blue and pink bodysuit (just one of many incredible outfits throughout the show – I particularly loved her red dress for the folklore/evermore section and the cutout detail of her navy Midnights bodysuit as well), she had the crowd absolutely in the palm of her hand and radiated a warm and engaging stage presence that made her absolutely mesmerising to watch. Even in her chats with the audience, you could feel the strength of her connection with the crowd and her commitment to delivering an amazing show for everyone, whether they were right at the front of the pit or way up in the gods. It's clear she's really invested in her audience and they absolutely responded to that in spades, particularly following ‘champagne problems' (which Swift played on her moss-covered piano) which drew the loudest and longest cheer of the night.
And then we come to the songs. If The Eras Tour has taught me anything, it's that Swift has the ability to turn her hand to anything, whether that's the driving uptempo pop of ‘Cruel Summer', female empowerment anthem ‘The Man' or a dreamy romantic ballad like ‘Lover' – and that was just the opening section! She truly is a master lyricist and I don't think it's exaggerating to say she's one of the greatest songwriters ever. This was particularly enhanced by the folklore/evermore section, where she spoke passionately about her experience of making the albums during the pandemic and creating a world and characters that were so far removed from her life at the time of ‘drinking white wine and covered in cat hair', before swirling languidly about the stage during songs such as ‘august' and ‘willow'. That world-building is something she also does brilliantly throughout the show, whether it's the frame of the folklore cabin, the clouds on ladders before ‘Lavender Haze' (more on that shortly) or the sheer amount of time she spends being raised up and down on platforms throughout the show as the crowd's wristbands flash in multiple different colours – it really is a production in every sense of the word.
As a RED and reputation fan I was particularly excited for those eras, and they didn't disappoint. RED was full of swagger and playfulness – particularly dancer Kam Saunders' “Jog on lad!” (in an impeccable Scouse accent) that drew raucous laughter during ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together' – as well as one of the softer moments of the set where confetti of leaves and snow swirled above the crowd during ‘All Too Well'. Reputation, meanwhile, was loaded with drama, from Taylor's entrance stalking down the catwalk in *that* red and black bodysuit to the pulsing intro of ‘…Ready For It?' to the transition between ‘Don't Blame Me' and ‘Look What You Made Me Do', before Swift span her dancers around trapped in see-through boxes and clad in many of her iconic looks.
That said, plenty of the other sections stood out too, from the carefree quality of the Fearless era (which included a couple near me getting engaged during ‘Love Story' – congratulations if you're reading this!) to 1989, which saw Swift give it both barrels as she recreated many of her biggest hits and most recognisable moments, including an exuberant performance of ‘Shake It Off', swinging a neon golf club as dancers cycled around her on light up bikes in ‘Blank Space' and the sensual ‘Wildest Dreams'. She finished with a burst of fire (literally) on ‘Bad Blood', and even as a longtime fan it gave me a massive newfound respect for her as a performer and her ability to consistently deliver on these songs night after night.
Elsewhere, there was a lot of excitement for The Tortured Poets Department section, which has been added to the show for the European leg. After a dramatic opening sequence with items appearing to drop from the sky over a grey road, Swift opened the set with a mashup of ‘But Daddy I Love Him' and ‘So High School', showing off her flirtatious side as she sat amid a crowd of her dancers, before going into ‘Who's Afraid Of Little Old Me?' She fully lent into the slightly unhinged vibe of the song, throwing her head back and spinning around the stage, before a dramatic closing effect which illuminated her eyes. Meanwhile, the solo performance of ‘Down Bad' was paired with spaceship graphics, whilst ‘Fortnight' echoed the song's video with its nurses, typewriter and revolving bed. To close the section, Swift delivered a marching band-inspired take on ‘The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived', dripping vitriol and rage in every line, before the complete contrast of ‘I Can Do It With A Broken Heart' and its almost comedic, silent movie-esque setup. It really highlighted her versatility and the whole thing slotted in seamlessly to the rest of the night.
One of the show's most anticipated parts is the acoustic section, also known as the surprise songs. This has been a tradition at Swift's concerts since her early days of touring, and fans eagerly look forward to hearing their favourite tracks that aren't included in the setlist. Last night we were lucky enough to hear ‘Carolina' and ‘no body no crime' on guitar – which Swift herself dubbed the ‘murder mashup' in her introductory speech – and ‘The Manuscript' mixed with ‘Red' on piano. The way she blends different parts of each track together is so masterful, switching effortlessly between songs and merging snippets together. I was particularly impressed with her reworking of ‘Red' as a piano number; I had hoped for a song from that album (it's Anfield, you kind of have to) but that was completely unexpected and yet worked so brilliantly together. It's a truly unique experience and I'm so grateful to have been able to witness it.
Swift closed the show with her ‘Midnights' section, which featured the pulsing thump of ‘Lavender Haze' and ‘Anti-Hero' alongside tracks such as the sultry, slinky ‘Vigilante Shit' (including the now-iconic chair dance) and ‘Bejeweled', which highlighted her incredible dancers. She closed the show with ‘Mastermind' and ‘Karma', which saw fireworks overhead as confetti rained down on the audience and just added even more – if that was possible – to the sheer joy of it all. The whole crowd was absolutely buzzing as they left the stadium and if they're anything like me I don't think they've quite come down from that high yet!
Overall The Eras Tour is a phenomenal spectacle that must be seen to be believed. The sheer theatricality of the whole thing takes it beyond just an ordinary concert, and at the centre of it all Swift is an outstanding ringmaster – not just in her dedication to her performance, which remained top notch throughout, but in keeping the entire well-oiled machine running smoothly. She really is deserving of her crown as the biggest pop star on the planet, and Eras is a perfect showcase not only for the work she's put in her and how incredibly talented she is at her craft, but also for the love she has for her fans (and that they have for her). It really is like nothing else you'll ever see and whilst I have no idea what she'll do next, I can't wait to see where she's going to take us on the journey.
Set list: Lover Era: 1. Miss Americana And The Heartbreak Prince 2. Cruel Summer 3. The Man 4. You Need To Calm Down 5. Lover Fearless Era: 6. Fearless 7. You Belong With Me 8. Love Story RED Era: 9. 22 10. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together 11. I Knew You Were Trouble 12. All Too Well (10 Minute Version) Speak Now Era: 13. Enchanted reputation Era: 14. …Ready For It? 15. Delicate 16. Don't Blame Me 17. Look What You Made Me Do folklore/evermore Eras: 18. cardigan 19. betty 20. champagne problems 21. august 22. illicit affairs 23. my tears ricochet 24. marjorie 25. willow 1989 Era: 26. Style 27. Blank Space 28. Shake It Off 29. Wildest Dreams 30. Bad Blood The Tortured Poets Department Era: 31. But Daddy I Love Him 32. So High School 33. Who's Afraid Of Little Old Me? 34. Down Bad 35. Fortnight 36. The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived 37. I Can Do It With A Broken Heart Acoustic section: 38. Carolina/no body no crime 39. The Manuscript/Red Midnights Era: 40. Lavender Haze 41. Anti-Hero 42. Midnight Rain 43. Vigilante Shit 44. Bejeweled 45. Mastermind 46. Karma Performance date: 15th June 2024
See Taylor Swift on The Eras Tour live in the UK and Ireland this summer (with special guests Paramore):
Tuesday 18 June – Principality Stadium, Cardiff
Friday 21 June – Wembley Stadium, London
Saturday 22 June – Wembley Stadium, London
Sunday 23 June – Wembley Stadium, London
Friday 28 June – Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Saturday 29 June – Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Sunday 30 June – Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Thursday 15 August – Wembley Stadium, London
Friday 16 August – Wembley Stadium, London
Saturday 17 August – Wembley Stadium, London
Monday 19 August – Wembley Stadium, London
Tuesday 20 August – Wembley Stadium, London
Can't make it to a show? Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Taylor's Version) is available to stream now on Disney+.
