Taylor Swift starts her epic Eras Tour in style with her first concert in five years

Look what you made her do…

The day Swifties have been waiting for has finally come. After a five-year wait, Taylor Swift opened her US tour in style with a three-hour long concert celebrating the various musical phases of her career.

Swift kicked off the first concert of the 52-date Eras Tour last Friday (17 March) with a six-song set from her album ‘Lover’ on Friday night at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, where the Super Bowl was played a month ago.

"I can't even go into how much I've missed you," Swift told fans, as she took to the stage for the opening night.

“I don’t know how to address the way this is making me feel right now,” added Swift, who hasn’t toured since 2018. Having not toured for her previous three albums - including the Grammy Award-winning ‘Folklore’ - this concert series live debuts many of her songs, including those from her recent album ‘Midnights’ (2022). It also serves as a best-of retrospective of her 17-year career.

When Swift announced the tour in November she called it “a journey through the musical eras of my career (past and present!).”

Her 44-song set was split into (un-chronological) sections, tracing her journey from country darling to pop royalty, via lockdown-era folk singer. It lasted just over three hours and she ended the concert with a seven-song set from her latest album ‘Midnights’, starting with her most recent single 'Lavender Haze' and closing with the song 'Karma.'

Swift’s outfit changes mirrored the show’s impressive production, with 16 dancers, constantly changing sets and backdrops, as well as an illuminated catwalk leading to a second stage. The singer’s outfits ranged from diamond-encrusted leotards to long-flowing dresses via red overcoats and sultry numbers which included a Cabaret-style chair routine, all to better reflect her various personas.

Swift also seemed to acknowledge the Ticketmaster debacle that more than dampened the run-up to the tour when she told the crowd of around 80,000 that she understands it took “considerable effort” for them to be there. Despite these multiple issues, the tour broke the record for the most concert tickets sold by an artist in a single day, at 2.4 million.

After another show at the same venue Saturday night, the tour moves on to Allegiant Stadium outside Las Vegas and then AT&T Stadium near Dallas. It concludes with five shows in California at the Inglewood SoFi Stadium from 3-9 August.

It’s been a long wait but there’s little doubt that the scope of Swift’s Eras Tour will be one for the books. Fans will have to wait a little longer for those eagerly anticipated European dates.

Swift has already dropped hints for the second leg of what should be a global tour and it is likely that her tour will pass through Europe, with a rumoured date in Paris in the second half of 2023 - probably at the Stade de France.

Stay tuned to Euronews Culture for more updates, as several members of the team will be frantically queuing up for tickets as soon as the European dates are announced.

For the time being, here was her epic setlist from her opening night on 17 March - and a taste of what lucky ticketholders have to look forward to this year:

Lover:

• Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince

• Cruel Summer

• The Man

• You Need To Calm Down

• Lover

• The Archer

Fearless:

• Fearless

• You Belong With Me

• Love Story

Evermore:

• 'Tis The Damn Season

• Willow

• Marjorie

• Champagne Problems

• Tolerate It

Reputation:

• …Ready For It?

• Delicate

• Don't Blame Me

• Look What You Made Me Do

Speak Now:

• Enchanted

Red:

• 22

• We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

• I Knew You Were Trouble

• All Too Well (10 Minute Version)

Folklore:

• Invisible String

• Betty

• The Last Great American Dynasty

• August

• Illicit Affairs

• My Tears Ricochet

• Cardigan

1989:

• Style

• Blank Space

• Shake It Off

• Wildest Dreams

• Bad Blood

Wild card section (a different acoustic song each show):

• Mirrorball

Taylor Swift:

• Tim McGraw

Midnights:

• Lavender Haze

• Anti-Hero

• Midnight Rain

• Vigilante Shit

• Bejeweled

• Mastermind

• Karma