Alex Dinofia
Staff Writer
Starting in Glendale, Arizona, Taylor Swift performed her first The Eras Tour show, her first tour in five years. She began the trek on Mar. 17 and will continue to perform around the country until her last stop in Inglewood, California on Aug. 9. As Vulture magazine notes, she’s curated a set list of around 44 songs, each hand-picked from her 10 albums. Fans around the world struggle to even obtain tickets, myself included.
Swift is well known for each of her albums: “Fearless,” “Speak Now,” “Red,” “Reputation,” “Lover,” “1989,” “Evermore,” “Folklore,” and “Midnights.” Her fanbase would refer to each of these albums as an “era.” Each album constitutes a different version of Swift: different wardrobe, attitude, and musical genre. Some of the albums are mainstream pop, others are more country, and some are more alternative.
UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) sophomore Alexa Ghalwash, who will be attending The Era’s Tour in August, said, “My favorite era is “Lover!” It’s an upbeat, lighthearted, fun album, but it touches on such deep emotions and intimate experiences.” For those like Ghalwash, Swift’s categorization of the “eras” allows her fans to identify with at least one album, offering a sense of belonging.
As mentioned, Swift’s setlist consists of a shocking 44 songs, and each show lasts around three hours. There is something magical about her interactions with her fans. Growing with Swift as an artist and then being able to see her perform her old and new songs together is remarkably nostalgic.
Swifties know that she is infamous for dropping carefully curated and sneakily placed clues known as “easter eggs.” Entering Swift’s “Lover” era, she claims that easter eggs are her way of communicating and connecting with her fanbase on an emotional level. During an interview with Jimmy Fallon, Swift claims that the easter eggs started to develop when she was creating her first album at around age 14 or 15. Her easter eggs tend to reference past love affairs, betrayals, friendships, and even release dates or times.
One such easter egg that fans have been looking for are hints towards the re-recording of her album “Speak Now.” Swift is in the process of re-releasing all of her old albums after her former record label sold her masters for a reported $300 million without her consent. Whilst performing songs from “Red” during this tour, she wears a shirt with bold black writing each night. However, certain words on the shirt are printed in red each night, and fans have reason to believe that the bolded lettering will eventually spell out: Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). In 2022, Swift posted several TikTok videos, announcing the songs on her new album, “Midnights,” one by one. When she announced each song, she picked up her phone to her ear, but fans noticed the phone was upside down when announcing “Vigilante Shit” and “Anti-Hero.’ These are tracks eight and three respectively. Swifties are speculating that this easter egg is pointing to the fact that she will announce the rerecording of “Speak Now” at her tour date in Los Angeles on Aug. 3.
Even down to the color of her nails, Elite Daily speculates that Swift’s new manicure might point to her 10 different albums. On her left hand, she has a red nail, which is obviously alluding to “Red,” and a rich purple nail that points to “Speak Now.” Her shimmery green pinky nail likely alludes to “Evermore” and “Folklore.” On her right hand, the black nail most likely refers to “Reputation,” the pink heart one calls to “Lover,” the peach shade on her ring finger hints at “1989,” and the light purple nail refers to “Midnights.”
Besides her genius tactics and breathtaking setlist, Swift sends her fans into a frenzy with her outfit changes. As previously mentioned, her 10 albums all constitute different eras, which can be easily identified in each one of her costume changes. My personal favorite outfit is her custom Versace bodysuit covered in pink and blue rhinestones. She matches the bodysuit with custom bedazzled Louboutin boots. She opens in this outfit while performing songs from her album “Lover.” Similarly, Swift changes into a custom bedazzled blazer when performing “The Man,” an ode to toxic masculinity.
When she begins to perform songs from her first album, “Fearless,” she changes into a custom Roberto Cavalli dress. People Magazine reports that the dress is almost identical to the one she wore during her tour dates in 2011. For her “Evermore” set, she changes into a flowy floral dress with a corseted top. She presents herself in a more effortless, earthy manner, matching the gentle vibe of the album.
Her “Reputation” outfit changes feature Cavalli custom bedazzled suits, but this time in all black. Her “Folklore” sets consist of multiple magical, flowy dresses designed by Alberta Ferretti. She wears stunning bedazzled, fringed, bodysuits in a rich navy blue for her “Midnights” set.
Those who obtained The Eras Tour tickets are in for three hours of chaos and tears, setting the stage for a night to remember. The nostalgia of her old country music combined with the badass energy of her new music bodes for a roller coaster of emotions.