REVIEW: Taylor Swift Shakes Things Up With The Eras Tour in Tampa, FL
WE’RE ALL IN AN ERA — and sometimes we’re all in the same one at the same time, especially if you attend one of Taylor Swift’s 52 The Eras Tour shows.
As a 21-year-old woman, I am constantly reflecting on my past “eras.” More times than not, these reflections come with an inflicting feeling of nostalgia, longing, and Taylor Swift songs.
Not only am I an incredibly sentimental person who thinks about the past a little too much, I am an incredibly sentimental person who has seen Taylor Swift on her Speak Now World Tour, The RED Tour, The 1989 World Tour, and Reputation Stadium Tour.
On April 13, 14, and 15, Dr. Swift (a name made possible by Swift’s recent honorary doctorate degree from NYU) brought The Eras Tour to Tampa, FL’s Raymond James Stadium for three sold-out nights. For the final two nights of her Florida run, crowds upward of 70K each night and I were able to revisit each of her eras over the span of three hours.
The Eras Tour is unlike any Taylor Swift tour. Imagine experiencing each season of your life flashing before your eyes in a matter of hours — that’s exactly how it is when you experience an Eras concert. It truly is an emotional roller coaster.
Swift began our journey through the eras with the honeymoon phase of Lover. Pink hearts flickered throughout the upper levels of the arena, and the entire crowd was beaming pink as they sang about the ones they loved. After six songs, pink faded to yellow and we were all Fearless.
As soon as the stadium lit up gold, the entire crowd was “Fifteen” again, experiencing the era of navigation through one’s teenage years. In three quick songs, it was like an autumn breeze blew through the stadium’s open-air arena — fall leaves might as well have drifted from the sky.
Then we were in the evermore era, one of Swift’s COVID-19 babies that finally got its time to shine being performed live for the masses. Attendees of the tour are gifted the debut tour performances of “’tis the damn season,” “willow,” “marjorie,” “champagne problems,” and “tolerate it.”
When evermore was released in 2020, there was one song I immediately related to: “champagne problems.” Hearing this song live took me right back to my senior year of high school, being a teenage girl who had a hard time holding onto good things because of her past.
The next 45 minutes were filled with short sets of one to four songs from the record-breaking albums reputation, Speak Now, and RED, respectively. In three-quarters of an hour, the crowd shifted from screaming in a revenge arc to reminiscing on being young, dumb, and in love, to sobbing over heartbreak. Swift wrapped up the RED era with an acoustic performance of “All Too Well (Ten Minute Version)” and disappeared. Then, a cabin in the woods rose to the stage, and my most anticipated era of the night was about to begin: folklore.
From the first chord of the “the 1,” the first song performed from this era, I was transported back to the most transitional period of my life I have experienced to date. At once, I was 18 years old again, healing from a teenage breakup, slowly making my way through the tunnel of the pandemic and preparing to move to a new city and live on my own for the first time.
After seven songs from Swift’s first pandemic album, the crowd needed to “Shake It Off” in the streets of New York. Following folklore’s “cardigan,” we were in 1989. Swift sang five of her most streamed songs from the album, then it was time for the crowd's most anticipated set of the night.
The Eras Tour experience would not be what it is without the anticipation of the two surprise songs that differ for each show. The three nights in Tampa each contained a different pair of songs, some never performed live before, and others that haven’t been performed live in years.
Photo courtesy of Grayson Keglovic
Tampa Night 1 Surprise Songs:
“Speak Now,” from her third album, Speak Now
“Treacherous,” from her fourth album, RED
Tampa Night 2 Surprise Songs:
“The Great War,” from her 10th album, Midnights (with surprise guest Aaron Dessner, co-writer and co-producer of the track)
“You’re On Your Own Kid,” from her 10th album, Midnights
Tampa Night 3 Surprise Songs:
“mad woman” from her eight album, folklore (with surprise guest Aaron Dessner, co-writer and producer of the track)
“Mean,” from her third album, Speak Now
Swift brought friend and co-writer Aaron Dessner on stage during the Friday and Saturday shows to sing “The Great War” and “mad woman,” as he played guitar and piano, respectively, with Swift.
Each show of the tour has ended the same way, with a grande finale of songs from her latest album, Midnights, and fireworks shooting to the sky from inside the stadium.
Throughout the entire three-hour show, I thought of my mother. Every Taylor Swift tour I have attended has been shared in the company of her — with the exception of this one. It was weird watching all the eras we experienced together without my mother, but Taylor Swift feels like an old friend who comforts us in times of loneliness and yearning.
And that is exactly how The Eras Tour is intended to feel.
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