Taylor Swift has dived head first and fearless into her country-wide stadium Eras Tour, where she’s been performing songs from her entire discography and reliving her album eras with fans. Every show includes two surprise songs from her discography, and fans have been gatekeeping their favorites and betting on what songs will be played at their shows. Every state so far has been going above and beyond to accommodate Miss Swift, with Glendale, Arizona changing its city name to Swift City in honor of the opening weekend. After her show in Arlington, Texas, Swift had a week break in between shows and with all of the week’s events, Florida Swifties were ready for it.
The City of Tampa had to make this weekend count and in addition to presenting Swift with a key to the city, Mayor Jane Castor passed down her crown and invited Taylor to be mayor for a day. The festivities didn’t stop there, Tampa administration also lit Old City Hall, downtown bridges, and the beautiful River Walk red in honor of the Eras Tour. With three sold-out stadium shows, Tampa knew Taylor’s arrival made the city holy ground.
Days before her first show in Tampa on the 13th, news channels announced that Taylor Swift and her long-term boyfriend of six years Joe Alwyn had broken up. A source revealed to People that the pair simply “weren’t the right fit for one another.” Understandably, fans were sent into a frenzy trying to make sense of the news and attempting to anticipate what this meant for the rest of the tour. A couple of shows prior, Swift replaced “invisible string” with “the 1” on the setlist. Swapping a song believed to be about how fate brought her and her lover together with a track that wonders what would’ve been had a relationship worked out sent many down a rabbit hole.
Directly after the breaking news, Taylor was spotted in New York City out for dinner with her longtime producer and friend Jack Antonoff and his fiancée Margaret Qualley. Infamous for her easter eggs found in anything and everything, fans quickly dissected her outfit, accessories, and even location to find any meaning behind this outing. Long story short, after her missing necklace with Alwyn’s initials, the butterfly on her jeans, and her proximity to Cornelia Street, fans were tied together with a smile leading up to her first show post-news.
However, if there’s one thing Taylor Swift is going to do, it’s shake it off. Night one in Tampa kicked off with new outfit changes: “Enchanted” swapped its ball gown for a gold long-sleeve dress covered in white flower petals, the folklore era gained a flowy green outfit, and 1989 shimmered in a new orange two-piece. Towards the end of the night, Swift performed “Speak Now” and “Treacherous” as night one’s two surprise songs. After saying “I’ve been thinking a lot about one of my albums recently. One of my albums has been on my mind a lot… lots going on in my brain about it,” before her Speak Now title track performance, fans felt sparks fly. Swift sported a yellow dress for this segment, closely resembling an iconic outfit from the same era.
Night two had a lot to live up to, and it understood the assignment. While fans saw no new outfits, they did receive two Midnights tracks for their surprise songs. Alongside Aaron Dessner, a songwriter and producer with whom she has many incredible collaborations, Swift sang “The Great War.” While many had expected it to be on the original setlist, Swift saved “You’re On Your Own, Kid” for Tampa, sending many into emotional breakdowns. Seemingly sensing this, Swift reassured fans, “I’m making a caveat to the rule which is if it’s on Midnights, I can do it however many ever times I want.” Now fans are wondering which show will get to hear it again.
Wrapping up an incredible weekend, Taylor switched back into her shimmering, beautiful ball gown for “Enchanted,” and showered fans with love during her piano version of “champagne problems.” To end Tampa’s surprise songs, Swift brought out surprise guest Aaron Dessner again to play “mad woman” on the piano and did an acoustic performance of “Mean.”
Fans gushed over Swift’s banter with Dessner on stage and what a perfect pair the songs from nights two and three made. As the weekend concluded, fans were in a state of amazement and grace. Houston, Texas is up next on the tour list.
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