Taylor Swift just completed the most successful tour of all time. As Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour wraps up, some fans shared feedback on their experience attending her concert. A couple had to travel very far to see her, even internationally. People attended her shows from April 2023 through November 2024. Gabby Cunningham, Brianna Vesely, Allyson Merchant, Gabe Watson, Averi Pellis, and I shared our stories and experiences.
Gabby’s Story
Gabby Cunningham attended three concerts: Detroit, Michigan Night 1, Edinburgh, Scotland Night 1, and Indianapolis, Indiana Night 2. She traveled great distances for each concert.
The first show she attended, in Detroit on June 9, 2023, was where she got to first experience the Eras Tour. The first opener that night was Gracie Abrams, an artist who has gained a lot of popularity since the release of her newest album, The Secret of Us, in June of 2024. The other opener was girl in red, well-known for her popular song “we fell in love in october”. Gabby’s was dressed inn a teal dress and cowboy boots with a cowboy hat to represent Swift’s Debut era. Each album represents an era of Swift’s career. At this show, her favorite eras were showcased. This leg of the tour was before the setlist got rearranged to accommodate her new album, The Tortured Poets Department. During this time, the albums evermore and folklore were separate and consisted of more songs from those albums such as fan-favorites, “the last great american dynasty” and “tolerate it”. The surprise songs are what make each show unique. Gabby’s surprise songs on Night 1 were “Haunted” on guitar and “I Almost Do” on piano.
Her next trip to Scotland for the Eras Tour on June 7, 2024, was one she won’t forget. Gabby’s opener at this show was Paramore, a popular band that includes lead singer Hayley Williams, who is featured on one of Swift’s Speak Now “From The Vault” tracks, “Castles Crumbling”. Her seats were in the lower bowl, so she had a great view of the show. “It was an outdoor stadium and because of where Scotland is geographically located, it was light outside the whole time,” Gabby recalled. She further explained, “That is why she played “Daylight” on the piano.” The other surprise songs that night were “Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve” mashed up with “I Know Places” on the guitar and “‘tis the damn season” accompanied “Daylight” on the piano. She recalls wearing a newspaper print top and a black leather skirt to represent the reputation album. Taylor wore one of Gabby’s favorite outfits at this show: the silver and black Fearless dress, which debuted in Paris at the first show of the European leg. Another one of Gabby’s favorites was the green folklore dress that she coincidentally wore at all three of the shows Gabby attended. Considering there were seven different dresses, this was a neat coincidence.
The final show Gabby attended was with her mom, sister, and cousin, Brianna Vesely in Indianapolis on November 2, 2024. She was in a suite to make the experience chill and comfortable. Her favorite part was getting to sing along to the nostalgic songs from Fearless, like “Love Story” with her family. She wore a white tee with a disco ball on it and a silver sequin skirt to portray the song “mirrorball.” Gracie Abrams returned as the opener for this concert and changed her set to include tracks from her new album. Taylor performed “The Prophecy” and “This Love” on the guitar and “Maroon” and “cowboy like me” on the piano. “Maroon” was the second-most-played surprise song on the tour — it was played 10 times in total.
Pictured above is a photo of the green dress taken by Gabby.
Brianna’s Story
Brianna Vesely attended The Eras Tour for the first time with her cousin, Gabby Cunningham in Indianapolis. She was so glad she was able to go before the tour was over. Coincidentally, she wore a maroon sparkly top and a black leather skirt. “I think my outfit manifested her singing “Maroon” on piano later that night,” she claimed. Her favorite part of the show was hearing “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” live and the guitar mashup consisting of “The Prophecy” and “This Love”. “The Prophecy” is a new track from The Anthology on her new album. The song was recently released on vinyl when she dropped the Eras Tour book and The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology vinyl at Target on November 29. Bri’s favorite outfits that Taylor wore that night were the sapphire Fearless dress and the gold reputation bodysuit. Both of these outfits debuted in Miami for the last leg of the tour. Even in the final shows, Swift continued to surprise the crowd with her new sparkly outfits and dresses.
At this show, Travis Kelce showed up to support Taylor one final time. Swift hinted at his attendance by wearing a yellow top and red skirt during the 1989 set. She also sang the lyric change in the song “Karma”, the final song of the show, by singing “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs”. In a recent episode of Jason and Travis Kelces’ New Heights podcast, Travis mentioned that “cowboy like me” is now one of his favorite songs from her. His all-time favorite is “Blank Space” off of the 1989 album. She sings it second in that set on the tour.
Ally’s Story
Allyson Merchant got the chance to see the concert twice during the length of the tour. She was lucky enough to score tickets from her friend early in the first US leg for the show in Atlanta, Georgia. Her openers were Gracie Abrams and beabadoobee, an artist who just released her new album, This Is How Tomorrow Moves, in August 2024. Ally attended Night 2 on April 29, 2023, and her seats were very close as they were on the floor. She wore a cowboy hat and a green dress, symbolizing the Debut era. Taylor wore Allyson’s favorite outfit that night: the purple folklore dress. This was the first folklore dress to debut but has not been worn as often as others. Her favorite parts of the show were the surprise songs, “High Infidelity” on the guitar and “Gorgeous” on the piano. Both of these songs were symbolic because “High Infidelity” has a lyric referencing the date April 29, and that concert happened to be on that date. “Gorgeous” was the very first reputation surprise song of the entire tour.
Allyson decided she wanted to go back one more time when Taylor came back to the US for a second leg. She went to the final show of this leg — Indianapolis Night 3, on November 3, 2024. Her favorite part of both experiences was hearing her sing “The Great War” on the piano. The surprise songs that accompanied it were “Cornelia Street” and “The Bolter” on guitar and “Death By A Thousand Cuts” on piano.
Above is a photo Allyson took during “Cruel Summer”.
Gabe’s Story
Gabe Watson was able to score tickets to Night 1 of the Pittsburgh Eras Tour on June 16, 2023, two weeks before the show. One of his family friends got a code and unlocked the ability to buy tickets. They got lower bowl seats with a great view of Taylor and the stage production. The openers that night were girl in red and Gracie Abrams.
He dressed up as the male tennis player that Swift transforms into in the music video, “The Man”. He described, “I wore a white collared shirt with white shorts, white tennis shoes, and wristbands.” All of these components came together to successfully achieve the look and an accurate portrayal of the outfit and a unique theme.
The surprise songs he got that night were “Mr. Perfectly Fine” on the guitar and “The Last Time” on the piano. The guitar performance was Swift’s first time ever performing that song live since its release in 2021. “Mr. Perfectly Fine” was deemed a fan-favorite “From The Vault” track off the award-winning album, Fearless. His favorite era of the show was folklore, which contains his favorite song by her — “betty”. “I like the sound of the instrumentals and how the song tells a story from start to finish,” he explained.
“My favorite moment of the show was singing and getting to hear “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” live,” he recalled. This track was released in 2021 and immediately gained popularity for being an extended version of a fan-favorite song off of her 2012 album Red. Taylor directed a short film for the song portrayed by actors Dylan O’Brien and Sadie Sink. The song later got nominated at the 2023 Grammys for Song of the Year.
Pictured above is a photo taken by Gabe during “Cruel Summer”.
Averi’s Story
Averi Pellis also went to the Eras Tour in Pittsburgh. She also went during Night 1 with fellow freshman Gabi Meyers. She was ecstatic when “Mr. Perfectly Fine” was played on the guitar. That was the highlight of her night. The song that accompanied it was “The Last Time” on the piano. Averi wore a pink tank top with a heart on it and white jean shorts to represent the Lover era. Similarly, her favorite outfit Taylor wore was the pink and blue Lover bodysuit. That bodysuit is the original and was the first to debut for that era on opening night. It is the outfit she wears on the concert poster and the new Eras Tour book cover.
While waiting to enter the stadium, she was hanging out in the parking lot and merchandise line. While doing so, she met Owenn, one of the show’s openers, and she even gave him a friendship bracelet. He was the main dancer in Swift’s “King of My Heart” performance on the Reputation Stadium Tour. He was also featured as her love interest in the “Lover” music video in 2019.
“My dream is to hear her sing “You’re on Your Own, Kid” live,” Averi recalled.. She eventually wants to get the opportunity to see her in concert again in hopes she performs that song.
Pictured above is Averi giving Owenn a friendship bracelet.
My Story
I was very lucky to obtain tickets for three of her concerts. I got tickets in March 2023 for Pittsburgh Night 1 after failing to in November during the original sale. Just a week before the concert, another ticket drop gave me the chance to score tickets for Night 2.
On Night 1, I went with my cousin, Corey McHenry. I wore a pink dress to represent the Lover era. Before the show, we also got to meet Owenn. I ended up getting a picture with him. That show was so special because we were on the floor by the diamond and had a great view. My favorite part was the song “august” in the green folklore dress because I got a great video of her singing on the diamond of the stage.
On Night 2, I decided to bring my mom to experience the show again with me. We both matched and wore Eras Tour merchandise. My favorite moment of that show was when she wore the pink 1989 two-piece set. The Pittsburgh shows were before the blue set debuted and I thought the pink encapsulated the album the best out of the options. The blue set made its appearance in August 2023 in Los Angeles for the announcement of 1989 (Taylor’s Version).
My surprise songs that night were “seven” with Aaron Dessner, one of her producers, on piano, and “The Story Of Us” on the guitar. Dessner started working with her for her album folklore, released in 2020. He has since worked on every project after that and has produced some of her most impressive songs like “cowboy like me,” “loml,” “invisible string,” and “How Did It End?”.
After she announced she was coming back for another US leg, I decided I wanted to try to get tickets again for my parents and my sister to go with me. I ended up getting a code for Miami Night 1 and got tickets for October 2024. She added a whole new set in between the Pittsburgh and Miami shows because she released a new album. My sister and I’s outfit was inspired by that new album, The Tortured Poets Department. I wore a white dress and a black bow and my sister wore a black dress and a white bow.
Gracie Abrams was the opener for this leg of the tour. I am also a fan of her and between seeing her in Pittsburgh and Miami, she released a new album as well. Coincidentally, my first Pittsburgh show was the release date of the deluxe version of her debut studio album Good Riddance and my Miami show was the release date of the deluxe version of her second studio album, The Secret of Us.
Many celebrities attended this Miami show including: Jason Kelce and his family, Selena Gomez, Tom Brady, and Serena Williams. I was able to spot Jason Kelce from the other side of the stadium with his daughters. My favorite parts about that show were her debuting the first new variation of the reputation bodysuit and her singing one of my favorite songs called “Daylight.” The last time she sang that song was at Gabby’s Edinburgh show. Another great moment was when Taylor brought out Florence Welch, also known as Florence + The Machine, to sing their song “Florida!!!” together during The Tortured Poets Department set. My other surprise songs that night were “Tim McGraw” and “Timeless” mashed up on the guitar and “this is me trying” was paired with “Daylight” on the piano. folklore is my favorite album, and I felt so lucky to get two surprise songs from that album.
Before the concert, my dad recalled seeing Taylor perform at a halftime show for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2006. The only song that she had released was “Tim McGraw,” as it was a month before her debut album dropped. It was a full-circle moment when she sang it in Miami. This experience was also different from the rest because it was dark out the whole time. The show was not during the summertime like the Pittsburgh shows were. It was also a rain show, but our seats were under cover so it did not affect our experience in the slightest. One special thing Taylor does is she celebrates rain shows and acknowledges them as something she enjoys performing.
Pictured above is a photo I took on the first night of the Pittsburgh shows during the 1989 set.
The Eras Tour concluded after five continents, 149 shows, and over 10 million fans attending. The tour grossed over $2 billion in ticket sales alone, making it the bestselling tour of all time. No other concert tour has come close to that amount. Her final show concluded in Vancouver on December 8. All three of her shows there were filmed and she repeated every outfit for every set. Many fans believe a new Eras Tour movie featuring the new version of the setlist is the reason. Others think it will be for a documentary. This tour’s success exceeded all expectations in every aspect. The overwhelming length of over three and a half hours and more than 40 songs stunned fans. The immense intricacy of the individual aesthetics for all ten sets was recognized and made the concept of the Eras Tour come to life. The overall experience was immersive and personal even though there were tens of thousands of people at each show. She ensured that not one show was the same as another. The impact and growth of her community of fans will continue in her future career.
Fun Facts:
- Every night before the last set of the concert, Midnights, Taylor sings surprise songs. Her initial goal was to sing every song from her discography and not repeat any unless she messed it up when performing it. Later on, as fewer songs were left unplayed, she decided to do mashups and repeat songs while still making each night its own. She did a song/mashup on the guitar and then another on the piano.
- Taylor brought out several special guests to sing surprise songs with her on the show including Sabrina Carpenter, Marcus Mumford, Ed Sheeran, and more.
- During the span of the tour, Taylor announced three albums: Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), 1989 (Taylor’s Version), and The Tortured Poets Department. Speak Now and 1989 were both announced right before surprise songs in Nashville and Los Angeles. TTPD was announced at the 2024 Grammys during Taylor’s winning speech for Best Pop Vocal Album with Midnights.
- Taylor sold out Wembley Stadium in London for eight nights. She became the first solo artist to do so in a single tour.
- Throughout the span of her tour, Swift gave over $197 million in bonuses to her workers and crew.
- In total, Taylor wore over 60 outfits on the Eras Tour. She had nine dresses for the Speak Now set that only included one song — “Enchanted”. She briefly had “Long Live” on the setlist as well after “Speak Now” (Taylor’s Version) was released. It was then removed to accommodate her new album for the start of the European leg in Paris.
