By Abbey Ferguson | LTVN Reporter
From straining my vocal cords from screaming the lyrics to “Cruel Summer” to then crying during the “folklore” setlist, experiencing Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour” was nothing short of phenomenal, and it’s been a long time coming. I had been preparing for the concert since miraculously securing tickets in November, and I have seen Swift in concert for her last three tours, so my expectations were high. After an enchanted night on April 2, I can confirm they were exceeded and this is truly her best tour yet.
Walking into AT&T Stadium in Arlington felt surreal. Finding our seats, I glanced around at the stadium and started to grasp the moment’s significance. On the night of my concert date, Swift became the first artist to perform three-straight days at AT&T Stadium. With 80,000 fans each night, it wasn’t until the moment I really looked around that I realized how large this venue really was.
Dressed in my “mirrorball”-inspired outfit, squealing with my roommate and her sister, the anticipation gave me chills. Finally, the lights slowly dimmed and a clock appeared on the large screen on the stage, signifying a countdown. Excitement filled the air, sparkly dresses filled the seats and light-up bracelets wrapped around every wrist as we all screamed, awaiting the concert’s commencement.
Swift opened the show with “Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince” from her 2019 album “Lover.” When this song was first announced as the opener, many fans were surprised, including me, but it was the perfect way to kick off the show because it is a high-energy pop track. The stadium was so loud that I could barely even hear Swift’s voice, drowned out by fans who had waited months to welcome a musical icon. By the end of the “Lover”-era setlist, I already thought my vocal cords were shot, but with adrenaline and excitement, I sang my way through the next era, “Fearless.”
One of the most special moments of the night came after the “Fearless” era, during the “evermore” section. Swift has the ability to turn such a large venue into a place where every individual feels seen and heard. In a stadium full of 80,000 fans, how can a performance feel so intimate?
The answer: Swift’s authenticity. Before singing a fan favorite, “champagne problems,” Swift sat down at the piano and had a conversation with the stadium, just like chatting to a group of life-long friends. For the 17 years she has been in the industry, Swift’s music has always spoken to fans on a personal level because of its relatability. Her lyrics reach a wide range of individuals, from college-aged girls like myself, to the middle-aged mom beside me, to the 6-year-old girl who danced the night away in the seat in front of me.
Due to Swift’s wide variety of musical genres, the entire night was a rollercoaster of emotions. After “evermore”‘s extremely emotional tracks — and I will say, I did cry during “tolerate it” — Swift regained the crowd’s energy by switching into the “reputation” era with the trap-pop hit “…Ready For It?” essentially making me wipe my wet mascara from under my eye and recapture my senses.
I went right back into my emotionally unstable state as we traveled to “Red” and “folklore,” only to “Shake it Off” once more during “1989” and “Midnights.” This concert was extremely unique because of Swift’s diverse discography, so switching from era to era was like swapping from emotion to emotion.
The whole night was a mosaic of feelings. Swift’s music captures the complexity of human emotion, so unlike most concerts in which the artist performs songs from only one album with a specific emotional correspondence, “The Eras Tour” setlist is a auditory melting pot of years of happiness, pain, and passion. The experience was like walking down memory lane with Swift and recalling every fraction of every feeling that each individual era and song inspires.
On top of it all, her vocals were perfection and her stamina was incredible. Long story short, a three-hour, emotionally heavy show is not an easy performance, but Swift’s passion for her fans and love for making authentic music showed throughout the night, creating an experience that I will remember all too well.
