Taylor Swift is The Man, Making History in Philadelphia

Taylor Swift is The Man, Making History in Philadelphia

Taylor Swift was very much in her Philly era this weekend.

If you are unfamiliar with the Eras Tour, I have to assume you’ve been living under the biggest and darkest rock for the past half year. Even for those who don’t consider themselves Swifties, you had to have heard of the entire debacle with Ticketmaster, a fiasco that Swift fans dubbed “The Great War” after her tune from her latest record Midnights. Over two million tickets were sold on Ticketmaster for the The Eras Tour, the most tickets ever sold for an artist in a single day. And while millions of tickets were sold, even more than a few million fans were left in the dust while the tickets they wanted were popping up on resale sites for thousands of dollars.

The chaos took the internet by storm, and Swifties across the country filed a lawsuit again the company for  “unlawful conduct,” claiming that the ticketing giant violated antitrust laws, among others, and may potentially result in a class action suit.

Nevertheless, the tour kicked off in March, and her stop in Philly marks the completion of the first third of the campaign. Fans who were lucky enough to secure their tickets are beyond excited. If you search the tour on TikTok, you will find thousands of videos of eager fans crafting the perfect outfit inspired by their favorite eras. Each city filled with Taylor-inspired experiences from bars with inspired cocktails to a locally painted mural to the merch trucks that had lines that formed at 6 a.m. daily.

The pop queen, who originally hailed from the state of Pennsylvania, declared the Philly weekend shows as her hometown show. It’s extremely noteworthy that she makes history as the first performer to ever play at the Eagles’ stadium, Lincoln Financial Field, for three consecutive nights. All of which were sold the heck out! Over 60,000 fans were inside the stadium, and nearly 20,000 fans camped and tailgated daily just to have the opportunity to listen to the concert. Some even came ready and willing to drop some serious cash in the event that tickets drop mid-show so they could rush into the stadium.

I consider myself one of the lucky ones who had the opportunity to attend one of the shows this weekend, the closer on Sunday. It was also Mother’s Day, and many in the crowd were celebrating the holiday together with their moms. Often, the term “mother” and talk of Mother’s Day were featured in show.

It was a stellar show from start to finish. Early in the show, Swift talked about how she managed and survived through the pandemic. She joked about surviving with wine and TV, relating to many, myself  included. She also spoke about the songs she wrote that ultimately birthed the four albums between the start of the pandemic and now, referring to those albums Lover, Folklore, Evermore, and Midnights as her children, she as their mother.

Her set was an astounding 3 and a half hours and featured a whopping 45 songs. Each city Swift hits, she will be performing two “secret,” songs and the internet has been buzzing daily with their guesses for each night. I truly don’t think a single soul would have guessed that her first secret song was from the vault’s Fearless hit, “Hey Stephen.” Immediately, I’m transported back to 2008 in high school again screaming every word to this bop with 60,000 of my closest friends.

The second secret song, which many guessed correctly, was her song “The Best Day.” This song is also from Fearless, but the main purpose behind performing this song was that Swift wrote it for her mom. The song revels in her childhood memories with her parents, and the video is year’s worth of home movies. It’s really such a sweet sentiment, and many held each other tightly while belting the words.

The entire experience was just that, an immersive experience. Upon arrival, everyone received a wristband that lights up specifically for each song. The show was perfectly segmented into sections for each era, each built with unique sets and detailed costumes suited for each period, from the moss-covered piano in the cavern for Evermore to the chic cabin for Folklore and the Lover dollhouse. Oh, I can’t forget to mention the snow falling for All Too Well and the massive confetti cannons that exploded during the Midnights finale.

It was magical, and I had a magnificent time ruining nothing.

Full Setlist

Lover Era

Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince
Cruel Summer
The Man
You Need to Calm Down
Lover
The Archer

Fearless Era

Fearless
You Belong With Me
Love Story

Evermore Era

’tis the damn season
Willow
Marjorie
Champagne problems
Tolerate it

Reputation Era

…Ready for It?
Delicate
Don’t Blame Me
Look What You Made Me Do

Speak Now Era

Enchanted

Red Era

Red – Intro
22
We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
I Knew You Were Trouble
Nothing New (performed with Phoebe Bridgers)
All Too Well (10 Minute Version)

Folklore Era

Seven
The 1
Betty
The last great american dynasty
August
Illicit affairs
My tears ricochet
Cardigan

1989 Era

Style
Blank Space
Shake It Off
Wildest Dreams
Bad Blood

Surprise Songs

Hey Stephen
The Best Day

Midnights Era

Lavender Haze
Anti‐Hero
Midnight Rain
Vigilante Shit
Bejeweled
Mastermind
Karma