“Hell was the journey, but it brought me heaven.”
invisible string, Taylor Swift
With a total of 52 shows comprising 10 albums, a 44-song long setlist, and two amazing openers for each night, Taylor Swift is back with her biggest and best tour yet: Eras.
If you’re lucky enough to be attending, here are some tips to help make your Eras concert a “once in twenty lifetimes” kind of experience.
Setlist spoilers lie ahead, so reader be warned!
- RESEARCH YOUR VENUE
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Before traveling to your stadium, familiarize yourself with the venue and its surroundings, so you’ll have an easier time getting in and out as quickly as possible. It’s recommended to rideshare to the concert via Uber or Lyft to avoid high parking fees— just know exactly where you’re going to be picked up and dropped off to make the process less complicated for everyone involved. Whether you’re carpooling or driving yourself, expect long lines of traffic going into and out of the stadium for hours before and after the concert is over (which is only natural considering how many people will be in attendance!)
If you know you want to bring a purse or wallet, check out your stadium’s bag policy. Some stadiums only allow clear bags under a certain size, while others may not let in any bags at all. Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, for example, has implemented a “No Bag Policy,” only allowing clutch purses that are no bigger than 4.5″ by 6.5″ inches. Anything bigger needs to be stored away in lockers or vehicles, at the risk of it being confiscated. Swifties who need to carry medical equipment or have other similar extenuating circumstances may need to fill out a bag exception form a few days prior to the concert.
Remember that each venue is different, so it’s important to read up on the rules and get a feel for the layout of your specific show!
- Dress Comfy
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While donning your latest heavily “bejeweled” 5-inch stilettos or being “too busy dancing to be knocked off” in your rhinestone cowboy boots may seem tempting at first, consider dressing in a way that’s both cute and comfy. More likely than not, you’ll find yourself standing around for most of the 3-hour long concert, so finding a way to fit sneakers or flats into your outfit would give your feet a well-deserved break.
Consider treating your ears as well. Some Swifties who’ve attended the Glendale and Las Vegas concerts have pointed out how wearing specially designed “musician’s earplugs” has helped them avoid ringing ears and hearing damage. These earplugs can be found online for relatively cheap, and they’ll filter out overly loud noises while still allowing you to hear all of the music and anyone talking to you.
- PLAN OUT When To Buy Merch, Use Bathrooms, and Get Food
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Inside and outside merch lines have been notoriously long, with outside lines taking as long as an hour or two. If you plan on purchasing merch, it’ll be a good idea to know where the lines will be starting in advance so you can head over there first and beat the crowd. Food lines will be long too, so consider eating before the concert or going out for drinks and dinner with friends as soon as it’s over. As for bathroom breaks, some fans have pointed out a smart strategy: going right when Taylor starts to sing “All Too Well (10 Minute Version.)” This might sound strange at first, but it’s a good point: ATW is the only song on Taylor’s setlist that’s long enough to account for a full bathroom break, so if you’re okay with missing the song that nearly won a Grammy for Song of the Year, you won’t have to miss two (or more) songs from the rest of her setlist.
- Know Your Swift Discography
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Whether you’re a newer Swiftie or a die-hard debut-era fan who hasn’t listened to her past few albums, be sure to familiarize yourself with all of Swift’s discography, new and old, to get the most out of this concert! Spotify playlists with the entire setlist are already out, and a quick search will show you all the songs you should memorize to be able to “scream ferociously” alongside Taylor the night of your show.
Studying the setlist, it seems like Taylor has opted to prioritize the albums that she hasn’t been able to go on tour for before, like Lover, Folklore, Evermore, and Midnights, singing around 5-8 songs from each one. It also seems like she’s finally showing her sister albums, Folklore and Evermore, some much-needed love, with Folklore having the most songs on the setlist than any other album. If you’re unfamiliar with “the last great american dynasty” or “illicit affairs,” now might be the time to finally give them a listen!
Beyond her set-in-stone setlist, Taylor’s also swapping out a few songs every night so that each show has some unique acoustic songs, and we’ve seen everything from “mirrorball” to “White Horse” at the Glendale and Las Vegas shows. Considering that “Enchanted” is the only song from Speak Now on the setlist, it wouldn’t be a shocker if she decides to sneak in some of her older hits as surprise songs, so prepare yourself accordingly.
- Make New Swiftie Friends!
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The Eras concerts will be great places to make new friends since you’ll already have one thing in common with everyone in attendance: a love for all things Taylor Swift! Some Swifties on Twitter have shared that they’re making friendship bracelets, stickers, and buttons to pass out to strangers or trade at the venue, and many nearby bars are also hosting parties for fans to get to know each other before the concert starts. There’s lots of great opportunities to take advantage of if you’re going to the concert alone and want to make friends or are just looking to meet others with music taste as excellent as yours.
With the countdown to each Era’s show getting shorter and shorter with each passing day, I hope these tips help you make the most of your experience attending one of Taylor’s rare concerts!