Atlanta, GA – Taylor Swift brought her career-spanning ‘The Eras Tour’ to the Mercedes-Benz Stadium this past weekend and made history as the first act to sell out three consecutive nights at the venue. There was so much overall demand for this tour, which set record-breaking ticket sales and of course, there was that near meltdown of a certain ticket-selling website. Days before the weekend event, the Mercedes-Benz Stadium even issued an update to notify concertgoers that ALL parking lots were sold out. However, that did not stop fans without tickets, as huge crowds formed outside the venue to watch the show from the jumbo tron with some hoping to grab up a legitimate ticket to get inside.
Taylor Swift – The Entertainer of an Era
When you consider the makeup of an entertainer, there should exist a special ability to connect with an audience and keep them captivated. For Taylor Swift to strike a chord that has over and over again been translated to the sheer level of loyalty that “Swifties” hold firmly demonstrates her success at what she does. This was not a weekend of primarily stacked ticket-flipping sales (although exorbitant resale ticket prices indeed exist), this was mainly a prepared, invested crowd who packed the venue to sing along to every verse of every song from every era of Taylor Swift.
Venturing out to better understand this phenomena, common threads of feedback received were about the relatable nature of Taylor’s story-telling and how her music accompanied the listener while navigating their own life journeys. As a skilled song-writer, Swift’s music connects with her listeners in deeply personal ways. The intensity of emotions becomes so heightened that the release of feel-good endorphins can result in “happy tears”, which some described starting when the tour was first announced to the actual moment of pulling up to the venue, and then during the immersion into the emotional experience of the show itself. At any moment, you could glance around the stadium to see a collective joyful, tearful, cheering, and dedicated concertgoers. Taylor Swift is most certainly an entertainer embedded in the fabric of many lives.
The Eras Tour
The show itself was a unique arrangement broken into several acts all filled with top-notch, theatrical performances. This could easily be THE TOUR talked about and remembered for years to come. Swift delivered over three hours of songs from each of her albums ranging from fan favorites, to deep cuts, and even some surprise songs that changed with every show.
The evening kicked off with songs from Swift’s the seventh studio album, Lover, released in 2019 and then moved into the country pop 2008 Fearless era until the stage was transformed for the evermore era, the surprise album that was released during the pandemic in December 2020 (following the sister folklore album). At this point in the show, Swift had already made her entertainer abilities seem effortless, as she made use of the extended catwalk, middle stage diamond area (housing giant blocks that occasionally rose out of the center platform), and a front-stage scaffolding arrangement (during “The Man”).
Throughout the show, each set included specific color-themes, lighting elements, custom outfits, and accompanying visuals in line with the vibe of the era. There were times when the entire stadium was glowing, with support from the outstanding visual production, expansive digital wall at front stage, and light-changing wristbands donned by each audience member. While at other points, Swift had the finesse to turn a sold-out stadium into an intimate, seemingly one-on-one moment, were she stood by herself with her guitar or sat alone at her piano. She has an impressive talent to take thousands of people and turn the energy either up or down. With all her wardrobe changes, large-scale choreography, and solid vocals through the eras, she appeared strong and unwavering over the length of the show. Swift presented with a genuine gratefulness to her fans and seemed to take in the crowd’s joy as a secondary source of strength, at one time describing the audience as her specific favorite of bouncy, jumpy, and dancey.
One of the most anticipated moments of each night on the tour is the surprise acoustic songs. Tonight would include “The Other Side of the Door” from Fearless performed on guitar and “Coney Island” from evermore performed on piano. Swift then transitioned into the final era of the evening (water visual effect included) and closed the night with “Karma”.
Swift is an incredible entertainer and she clearly gives it her all, while managing to grab your heart and soul. The production is an experience and you do not have to be a “Swiftie” to appreciate her storytelling and creativity. The Eras Tour encompasses her evolution as an artist and her delivery of life through her music.
SET LIST
L o v e r
Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince (shortened)
Cruel Summer
The Man
You Need to Calm Down (shortened)
Lover (spoken intro)
The Archer (extended outro)
F E A R L E S S
Fearless (shortened)
You Belong With Me
Love Story
e v e r m o re
’tis the damn season (shortened)
willow
marjorie (Shortened)
champagne problems (spoken intro)
tolerate it (extended intro w/ keys)
r e p u t a t I o n
…Ready for It? (extended intro)
Delicate
Don’t Blame Me (shortened)
Look What You Made Me Do
S p e a k N o w
Enchanted (extended intro)
R e d
Red – Intro
22
We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
I Knew You Were Trouble
All Too Well (10 Minute Version)
f o l k l o r e
seven (Spoken word poem; contains elements of “Wildest Dreams”)
the 1
betty (spoken intro)
the last great american dynasty
august
illicit affairs (shortened)
my tears ricochet
cardigan
1 9 8 9
Style (shortened)
Blank Space
Shake It Off
Wildest Dreams (shortened)
Bad Blood (shortened)
S u r p r i s e S o n g s
The Other Side of the Door (Live debut; on guitar)
coney island (Live debut; on piano)
M i d n i g h t s
Lavender Haze
Anti‐Hero
Midnight Rain
Vigilante Shit
Bejeweled
Mastermind
Karma
PHOTO GALLERY
Show Date: Friday, April 28, 2023
