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5 years is a long time to wait for your favorite artist to take the stage again. For pop titan Taylor Swift, this was enough time to release 4 new albums. Fans anticipated her return so they could finally hear these new tracks live. When the “Eras Tour'' was finally announced, Swifties flooded Ticketmaster, all vying for tickets. For fans in Philadelphia, PA the moment had finally come to see their favorite artist hit the stage again, and it was well worth the wait.

For those who haven’t seen her live yet, it’s important to note that being at a Taylor Swift concert is more than just being at a concert, it’s an entire experience. Fans dress up in various outfits representing songs and outfits from Taylor’s life; a sea of sequins and glitter could be seen for miles! For this tour, fans have also been making beaded bracelets and trading when they encounter other Swifties. Standing on the floor of Lincoln Financial Field and seeing everyone all dressed up was so heartwarming. The creativity and time that went into a lot of these looks was breathtaking. The sense of community that comes with being at a Taylor Swift show is unlike anything you will experience. A girl dressed as “Miss Americana” skipped around, offering glitter to anyone who wanted to sparkle a little extra. When a fan named Paige who came all the way in from North Carolina to Philly for her 5th show was asked, “What does the Eras Tour mean to you?” she responded, “I have been a fan forever. Going from Reputation and then having this whole dry spell of tour, like legitimately I cried walking into the stadium. Like I was teary eyed… It means everything.” Many others in the crowd also probably had similar stories, many having grown up listening to Taylor Swift’s discography, spanning across a whopping 17 years.

After her two openers Gracie Abrams and Phoebe Bridgers finished their sets and left the stage, the clock appeared across the huge screen spanning the length of the stage, signaling a countdown for the show to start. Fans were already screaming as loud as they could! We were about to be taken through 17 years of music, 9 different eras. Talk about variety!

MAJOR ERAS TOUR SPOILERS BELOW

A door opened on the back of the stage and out walked Taylor’s dancers, all equipped with large, flowing, parachute-like structures attached to their backs, fanning out behind them. This dreamy start signaled the beginning of our first album era, Lover. This album was the first of the new albums to not have gotten a chance at a live tour due to COVID, so it was the perfect start to the night. When the dancers met in the middle, they gathered as a group, pulling away the large cloth structures to reveal Swift standing in the middle of the stage, donning a sparkling bodysuit. The wristbands given to each attendee lit up around the stadium. Opening the show with “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince”, the whole crowd erupted into a chorus of scream singing. The moment was absolutely ethereal. After saying hellos, Swift went on to play several more tracks from the album including “You Need to Calm Down” and “The Archer”. At one point, the wristbands around the stadium lit up the audience into the shape of hearts, which was one of the coolest things to witness. It was also during this section that fans saw what her large stage was capable of. Not only did the larger than life stage feature a huge screen across the back to display live footage of her and scenery, but the catwalk that jutted out throughout the floor of the stadium projected images onto the floor, and also had a series of platforms that lifted up from the ground, allowing Swift to be displayed higher up for all to see. The platforms also had the capability to be set to different heights, allowing step like structures for Taylor and her dancers to be displayed on.

When transitioning into the next era, Fearless, the stage rained fire sparklers from the top as the band played an instrumental bit. When Taylor emerged back out again, she was wearing the iconic Fearless fringe dress and started off with the title track “Fearless”. This part of the set was short, featuring only 3 songs, but Swift had a trick up her sleeve to show more love for this album later on. When she started “You Belong With Me”, it was an indescribable experience. The entire crowd was singing as loudly as possible with a beaming Swift on stage as she performed.

Moving into our next era, evermore, the stage changed to display trees on the sides with a forest background. The dancers had light up spheres that were used to dance with and effortlessly tossed into the air. In addition to all of the attention you give to Taylor Swift on this tour, give an equal amount of attention to her phenomenal crew of dancers. Throughout each set they could be seen with various props that really enhanced the performance. I wouldn’t call the Eras Tour a concert - it was a full blown, immersive production, the true meaning of a show. During the song “marjorie”, the stadium lit up with tens of thousands of phone lights, leaving Swift speechless. It was a gorgeous moment. Her piano was covered in moss to match the forest theme of the album as she sat down to play “Champagne Problems”. Again, the level of detail on this tour is unmatched.

The transition into the Reputation era featured the iconic snake visuals on the back screen. When Swift came out to perform “...Ready for It?”, she was holding a microphone with a snake embellishment wrapped around it. Every single detail of this tour down to the instruments and outfits was so well thought out to perfectly represent each era. This era ended with the iconic “Look What You Made Me Do”, which featured the dancers in glass boxes dressed up in Taylor Swift’s recognizable outfits from each era of her career.

The Speak Now era was the shortest of all the eras of this tour, featuring only one song from the album, “Enchanted”. Swift recently announced the Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) release date (out July 7, 2023), which left me really wanting to hear more tracks from the album live. The performance of “Enchanted”, however, truly was enchanting. With Taylor Swift wearing a beautiful ball gown, and the screen in the back displaying a field of flowers, it really set the tone. 70,000 people all screaming, “Please don’t be in love with someone else,” would bring tears to anyone’s eyes in such an emotional moment.

The next era, Red, was the era I anticipated the most. 10 years ago, my best friend begged me to share her favorite artist with her, so I agreed. She picked out my outfit, glittered me up, and drew the number 13 on the backs of my hands. We drove to Lincoln Financial Stadium and I experienced my first Taylor Swift show with the “Red Tour”. From there I knew I was going to be hooked. Thinking back to that experience on this night and realizing I was back in the same place 10 years later, alongside my other best friend for her first Taylor Swift show made me realize how full circle this all was. One of her dancers had a case on stage that when opened, played snippets of songs from the album. The crowd kept singing the lyrics, even when there was no music playing. When Taylor ran out on stage wearing the classic white shirt, black shorts, and black fedora look iconic of this era, the performance of “22” was that much more exciting. There was even an additional outfit change during this set! As a special treat, Phoebe Bridgers came back out on stage to perform “Nothing New” as a duet with Taylor. This led us into the All Too Well (10 Minute Version), which was nothing short of powerful. At one point, confetti delicately rained down from the tall pillars on the sides of the floor, making it a more impactful moment.

Moving into the folklore section, she opened with the album opener “the 1”. The stage was set up to include the folklore cabin, a very nice touch. Swift explained the inspiration behind the album being her fantasies while being stuck inside during COVID. She performed a couple of my favorites from this album including “the last great american dynasty” and “cardigan”.

Up next was a very clear crowd favorite, the 1989 section, which featured songs such as “Style”, “Blank Space”, “Shake It Off”, and “Wildest Dreams”. Her fringed, glittering outfit shined as she danced and ran across the stage. All the while, the wristband lights twinkled throughout the entirety of this section. Something that became quite apparent by this point in the show was how masterfully Swift travels across the stage throughout a performance. Her stage setup really allowed her to be able to spend time near each section of the audience on both sides, and she spent an equal amount of time on all ends to make sure audience members had a clear view of her throughout the performance. Just when you thought there couldn’t be any more production elements thrown in this show, fire shot out from the stage and the pillars on the floor during the performance of “Bad Blood”. At this point we were far more than halfway into the show and Taylor was still pulling out surprises for the audience.

The most surprising section of all was, of course, the surprise songs. Every night of tour, Taylor Swift chooses two songs from her catalog to perform as a surprise that deviates from the setlist. The rule for this section is that once she plays a song, she doesn’t repeat it at another date, making it a unique show every single time for each city and each date. This highly anticipated section of the night started out with the song “Hey Stephen” from the 2008 album Fearless. With only Swift on the guitar at the end of the stage, the crowd was absolutely losing their minds realizing what song was being played, hearing the humming that starts the song off. When the song was finished, Taylor then moved over to the piano and gave a very heartfelt speech about her best friend and having written the next song for her. There was a speech about Mother’s Day, as the show had been happening on that day. Dedicating the next secret song to her mother, Swift launched into another song off of Fearless, “The Best Day”. My jaw absolutely dropped, having gotten both secret songs off of such an iconic album. Philadelphia Night 3 received an absolute treat that night.

Rounding out the show, we moved into the newest era, Midnights. Her dancers emerged carrying ladders with large cloud structures at the tops. Swift came out in her glittering outfit with a fuzzy coat and opened this era with the album opener “Lavender Haze”. Included in this section was also the chart topper “Anti-Hero”, and “Vigilante Shit”. As the set wound down, she ended with “Karma”, pulling out all the stops, shooting fireworks into the air and blasting confetti into the crowd. A true show stopper. If you are a fan of Taylor Swift, this tour is for you - for the Swifties who have followed her career. If you have yet to see Taylor Swift live, the time is now. There could not be a better tour to introduce her to your friends. The variety in the setlist, the production on the stage, the outfits - everything about this tour was unbelievable.

**MAJOR ERAS TOUR SPOILERS BELOW**

MAJOR ERAS TOUR SPOILERS BELOW