Seeing Taylor Swift with my own eyes was not on my 2023 bingo card. I never thought the day would come; seeing the woman who raised me throughout my childhood perform live in a stadium filled with thousands of people just like me.
From start to finish, everyone around me was on their feet, jumping, dancing, and singing their heart out. The commencement of the show started with a big countdown getting the crowd riled up and ready to welcome Taylor onto the stage. Starting with her “Lover” era, Taylor opened with Miss Americana & Heartbreak. The fabric shifting through the air while the instrumentals played kept the crowd engaged, waiting to see where Taylor would come out from. Lights shining bright onto Taylor, everyone was able to see her shine on top of the platform. Having her lifted at the top felt very wholesome, as everyone was able to get the first look at Taylor throughout the entire stadium. The platform comes down and Taylor makes her way around the entire stage, making sure to hit every corner.
Next up on the eras list, Taylor travels back in time to her “Fearless” era. This is where my inner child came out. Hearing the next three songs on the setlist took me back in time to when I was only seven years old, hanging my Taylor Swift posters that I got from my J-14 magazine.
We then time travel 12 years to the future and reach the “Evermore” era. Once we got to this era, I was able to give my feet a little break from jumping up and down and instead swayed left and right with the crowd. Not only did Taylor pace herself and her team within their performance, but she was also able to pace the audience with the mix of eras and energy required.
The “Reputation” era gave me the most chills. Throughout the whole night, I was anticipating this very moment. While we waited for the next costume change, the screen displayed the most exhilarating preview of what was to come. The sounds of the heels clicking riled the crowd up, chanting Taylor’s name, waiting for her to come out. Taylor introduces this era by singing “…Ready for it”, which was very fitting because we were all in fact, ready for it. Costume design and choreography throughout this era were definitely a crowd favorite. Taylor and her dancers impressed every one by hitting every beat while dancing and singing in the most intense Florida heat. Taylor had an extra glow during this era, definitely from the typical Florida humidity, but she made it look good.
After another banger of an era, Taylor continues the bangers and moves on to her “Red” era (Taylor’s version). This is when Taylor expresses her gratitude to everyone in the stadium for the endless support which allowed her to re-record and come out with her own version. From the perspective of someone in the crowd, I could feel her gratitude and appreciation for all of us, every single one of us.
Getting closer to the end of the show, Taylor switches to the iconic “Folklore” era. In this era, I felt very locked into the performance. It was such an immersive experience, with set design, costumes, choreography, and all the visuals on the big screen. I felt as if I was in the forest listening to Taylor’s album when it first came out in 2020.
Bringing back the energy, Taylor moves onto her “1989” era. Another era that brought me back to my childhood. For the next 20 minutes, I was jumping up and down going through memory lane when this album came out at the impressionable age of 13. Taylor made her way around the entire stage to make sure she danced and shook her body with everyone in the stadium.
Ending the night off with her latest era, “Midnights,” was the perfect finale. What an experience to see every single era of her music career. Ending off with “Midnights” felt very special because, without the success of all her other eras, this era wouldn’t exist. The end of the performance felt very full circle and we ended the show with so much fulfillment.
So what was the overall experience? To keep it short, it was the experience of a lifetime. I would not trade for anything in the world. Every era had something special and felt like a completely different performance. It truly felt as if we were time traveling through the eras.
For those getting ready for your Eras Tour show here’s a curated playlist with the setlist order to mentally prepare yourself for the night of back to back bangers. Happy Eras Tour Season ✧･ﾟ
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