Like many, Taylor Swift’s music has been the soundtrack to my life. My sister has been a Swiftie since Taylor’s self titled album came out in 2006; Taylor’s music could be constantly heard from the T.V., the car radio or better yet my sister’s acoustic guitar. My sister used to film music videos of me dancing to 22 and We Are Never Getting Back Together all the time when I was little. Her lyrics have quite literally been engraved in my brain. The first songs I ever really felt like I could play on guitar belonged to Taylor. Even today my most frequent songs played on guitar are off of Speak Now–an album that will always remain my favorite, no matter how many more she releases.
When the Eras Tour was announced, the entire world entered “The Great War” with Ticketmaster to try and get tickets. Ticketmaster left many die-hard fans devastated as they could not get tickets. After much hassle, my sister was able to get three tickets for herself, her best friend, and me. Little did my sister know when she bought tickets for May 20th (Foxborough Night 2) that our show would go down in history “as the rainiest rain show that ever rained”. So yes, everyone in the stadium (including Taylor) was absolutely drenched, but that didn’t stop anyone from having an amazing time. Truly, I had the time of my life, singing and dancing with 65,000 other Swifties in the pouring rain and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. That night was so magical and definitely something that still feels like a dream.
I was one of those people that admittedly stopped whatever they were doing on the weekends to track what was going on with the tour. I loved seeing which outfits she was wearing for each era, what changed night to night and of course what surprise songs were played at every show. Following The Eras Tour, each weekend truly became routine and I really missed it once the L.A. shows wrapped up. So when Taylor announced that the Eras Tour Movie was coming to theaters, I was ecstatic. I was so lucky to get to go in the first place and I couldn’t wait to experience the thrill again. Unsurprisingly the movie became a box office success, with Swifties rushing to theaters to experience it.
There are so many reasons why giving this movie a theatrical release was the perfect idea. She made this concert available to those who were unable to get tickets due to the Ticketmaster scandal. So many fans didn’t get to experience the concert in person and the movie does the perfect job of making them feel like they were there. That being said, all of the fans who were lucky enough to go got transported right back into their respective shows. Also by releasing it in movie theaters, she wasn’t violating the rules of the SAG-AFTRA strike. She really is a Mastermind.
The movie itself was so uplifting. I didn’t stop smiling the entire time I was in the movie theater. It truly felt as though Taylor was singing directly to you.
When this tour was first announced, there was much speculation surrounding the set list. People thought it was going to be impossible to narrow the songs that made it, especially considering that her four most recent albums (Lover, Folklore, Evermore and Midnights) were never given their own tours due to the pandemic. However, the set list she did put together was perfect. She performs for over three hours straight, with the only breaks she gets coming from very quick costume changes. Not every song is included in the movie. Songs such as The Archer, Cardigan, No Body No Crime and Wildest Dreams were all absent from the movie. Personally Cardigan and The Archer were my two biggest losses when it came to the cut songs. Even with the 6 cut songs, the movie is still an ideal representation of what this tour represents.
For many Swifties, there is one album or in this case “era” they love or connect with more than the others. For me, this album has always and will continue to be Speak Now. You could even go as far as to say that Speak Now will Forever and Always be my favorite album.I will admit that during the actual tour, her performance of Enchanted brought me to tears. That’s when it really sank in that I was really hearing this music live. I was surrounded by people who love this music as much as (if not even more than) I do. Enchanted is the only song from the Speak Now era to make it into the filmed version despite Long Live being added to the set list after the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). Some of the highlights from the movie came from the Reputation, 1989 and Folklore eras respectively.
The Reputation era is typically not my favorite, but the Reputation set during The Eras Tour is one of the most enjoyable moments of the entire show. This era features iconic moments in the Swiftie fandom such as the Don’t Blame Me high note. This section of the tour felt the most similar to the Reputation tour and encapsulates everything this era means. I saw the movie the week before 1989 Taylor’s Version came out and it made this era so electric. These songs are arguably her most popular and to watch her perform them exactly a week before she owns them again was so powerful. It just further established why the re-recordings are so important. Every artist should have control over their discography and through “Taylor’s Version” she is able to have that control again. Finally the Folklore era was truly magnificent. This era was filmed beautifully. This album was never toured because of the pandemic and we were given a glimpse into what a full length Folklore tour might have been. This era fully immerses you into this fictional world that Taylor has created. It transports the audience into a cabin in the woods. It is truly breathtakingly beautiful. The attention to detail and immense planning/thought that was put into this tour is on full display.The costumes on this tour are truly mesmerizing. My favorite performances in this era were without a doubt Betty and Illicit Affairs.
Another point that needs to be discussed when talking about the Eras Tour is the surprise song set. A big part of social media’s attention to the tour came from what surprise songs were played at each show. There is so much significance to having Our Song and Your On Your Own Kid being immortalized as the two surprise songs with this movie. Our Song was the first hit Taylor ever had and is truly still one of her biggest songs today. Since there is also not a standard “debut”set, by including “Our Song” she is still performing a song from “debut”. One of the biggest aspects of the tour was the friendship bracelets fans were trading while at the concert. Fans were trading bracelets because of the line in “Your On Your Own Kid” that says “so make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it”. By trading friendship bracelets at the shows it made every fan feel like they were part of the fan base. Trading bracelets has become a trend adopted outside of Swifties and it’s all because of that one lyric. She included both of these songs as fan service for the movie goers.
Truly, the Eras Tour is unlike the tours of most artists. Most artists only want to focus on the music they are currently making. However, Taylor Swift has fully embraced her past work and sees embracing her old music as the only way to move forward. The movie and tour are celebrations of the incredible career Taylor Swift has led. Just like we have all grown up with her music, she has grown up as an artist and as a person in front of us. This tour is allowing us all to reconnect with the people we were when we first experienced these songs and the people we will become. So Taylor; “I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you”…
