At 7:57 p.m. in Glendale, Ariz., a timer appeared on the large screen of State Farm Stadium. Erupting in screams, cheers, and tears, the audience eagerly awaited Taylor Swift’s arrival on stage. When the timer hit 0:00, Swift’s voice echoed, almost like a trance, as the words “It’s been a long time coming,” filled the stadium. 

As she opened the tour with “Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince,” dancers holding large feathers entered the stage while Swift arose center stage in her jaw-dropping, shimmering Versace bodysuit. She strutted down the stage as she sang “Cruel Summer,” a fan-favorite, whose bridge had gone viral on TikTok. As she performed “The Man,” Swift put on a bedazzled blazer and delivered her extremely critical view of gender inequality. As she picked up her guitar, she made sure to acknowledge the effort fans took to be at the show that night and explained how the night was going to play out. “So tonight, we’re going to be going through an adventure, one era at a time,” Swift said. “We’re going to be exploring the last seventeen years of music that I’ve been lucky enough to make and you’ve been kind enough to care about.” 

Four years in the making, fans didn’t know what to expect when they bought tickets for “The Eras Tour,” Taylor Swift’s sixth headlining tour. After COVID-19 canceled “Loverfest,” Swift’s tour for her seventh album, “Lover,” she released three more albums: “folklore,” “evermore,” and “Midnights.”  The build up for the tour was long — as were the wait times to get tickets to attend the concert itself. However, what fans didn’t expect was the three-hour set list. Swift wasn’t kidding when she told fans to “meet [her] at midnight” on “Midnights” opening track, “Lavender Haze.” Swift performed 44 songs divided into ten of her “eras.” The “eras” revolved around her albums and journeyed the audience into a different world each time — each era was filled with glittered outfits, enthused dancers, and powerful vocals.  

Since Swift had not taken stage since 2018 for her “Reputation Stadium Tour,” the anticipation was high. With over 69,000 people attending the first night of the tour, she broke the record for the most attended female concert in US history. It was clear that Swift felt more freedom in her performance this time than she did with the sequin-smiled, black lipstick performances of her last tour. After performing eight songs off of “folklore,” the audience experienced the sheer magic held in Swift’s storytelling, proving the power of her songwriting even when she transitioned from the upbeat “Lover” to the quaint “folklore.”

As Swift traversed through each era, one thing became clear: this tour was purely for the fans. Aptly named, “The Eras Tour,” fans could dress for the occasion with different looks relating to any of her albums. From sparkling dresses and princesses to mirrorballs and Olive Garden workers, there was no set theme for the tour — fans were fashionable, yet playful. This excitement was shared with the cities Swift played in; Glendale temporarily changed its name to Swift City to welcome her as she embarked on the first stop of her tour. For junior Lily Weems, it was her first time seeing Swift live. “I’ve loved her for a very long time, so I’m happy [that] I’m finally able to experience her music live, especially since she’s performing songs from her other eras.”

Fans also shared small, yet significant moments with Swift — they would yell “You forgive, you forget, but you never let it go,” during the bridge of “Bad Blood” and counted down to the first verse of “Delicate.” These trends were started by fans years ago and posts of them doing it went viral on social media to the point where Swift herself indulged in these moments during her shows — it was something she shared exclusively with her fans. Every night, Swift also performed two surprise songs — Glendale’s being “Tim McGraw,” her first released song, and “mirrorball.” Acoustically performed, these surprise songs were yet another moment for fans to look forward to at their shows and made each tour date unique. Weems, who went to Swift’s Tampa show, was satisfied with the surprise songs she received: “Speak Now” and “Treacherous.” “‘Speak Now’ is my second favorite album and ‘Treacherous’ is from my favorite album and I’m so happy with the songs that I got,” Weems said. 

For most, a three-hour setlist may be too much. But with Swift’s showmanship and impressive discography, she finds a way to top herself — tour after tour, and year after year. “The Eras Tour” has underlying tones of a “greatest hits” concert where large audiences gather to celebrate the artist’s career, usually towards the end of theirs. However, it’s clear that Swift has never been more in her prime.

Future dates for “The Eras Tour” can be found here.