I know in the past I’ve said that I really didn’t expect us to get approved for certain shows, but this one truly takes the cake. Finally, the chance to write a review of my favorite artistS of all time: Taylor Swift. I was ecstatic to wake up to a text from my editor saying we got approved to review, even if I wasn’t able to take photos. I’ve been a fan of Taylor Swift since her debut but due to my upbringing, I was never allowed to go see her in concert. So to finally be able to see her on this tour was truly a lifelong dream come true.
I can’t believe I’m about to say this but the weather was absolutely amazing Sunday in Atlanta. The sun was out all day though with the high in the low 70’s, which was perfect in my opinion. Way better than the normal instant heat Atlanta can produce. I arrived at the venue at 1:30pm because I was super worried about all the traffic and lines and lines of people at the stadium. Getting there super early was the best route though because we only had to wait an hour or so for the windows to open at will-call, and there were no lines for us at all there because we were so early. We weren’t the only ones who decided to get there early either. There were a good number of Swifties there already when we arrived trading friendship bracelets, hanging out in merch lines, making TikToks, and taking selfies. Everyone was just camped out in front of the stadium having a great time before the doors opened. They also had food trucks set up in this beautiful grassy area in front of the stadium. It very much reminded me of when I went to San Francisco and hung out in the park in front of the Painted Ladies. Everyone was just having an amazing day in the park so to say. The outfits were amazing too and that needs to be stated. Everyone went all out with their outfits and created past Taylor tour outfits and music video outfits. A multitude of different references and even funny pun outfits as well. Before long, the lines for the stadium started to form and it was time for me to find my line to get into the stadium. So we finally got through the line and into the stadium around 4:45pm or so. As we walked in they scanned our tickets, gave us fancy floor seat wristbands and our light up bracelets. We quickly made our way to the beverages and food before finding our seats because we knew Taylor was going to perform an over 3 hour set that we didn’t want to miss a second of it. The Mercedes-Benz Stadium staff really made sure that all stations and lines flowed smoothly and quickly and no one was standing for hours on end. They did such an amazing job at organizing and all the workers were super nice and excited for all the fans it seemed. After getting food and drinks we quickly made our way to our seats to eat and relax before the first opener of the night, Gayle took the stage.
Gayle is a singer-songwriter from Plano, Texas. She started singing when she was 7, then eventually moved to Nashville Tennessee to pursue her music career. In 2020 after releasing several self-produced singles, Gayle was discovered by former American Idol judge and Arthouse music publisher Kara DioGuardi and was then signed to Atlantic Records and Arthouse. In 2021, Gayle released ABCDEFU, her major-label debut single with Atlantic and Arthouse. It became viral on TikTok and Spotify. ABCDEFU peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100. Outside of the United States, ABCDEFU topped the charts in Finland, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, and the top ten in Australia, Austria, New Zealand, and Switzerland. Gayle subsequently released the song “Ur Just Horny” on January 19, 2022. On March 18, 2022, Gayle released a six-song extended play EP titled A Study of the Human Experience Volume One via Atlantic and Arthouse.
Gayle busted onto the stage with insane energy. She had crazy cool red, black and white visuals that flashed and looked shaky, almost as if someone was shaking the camera that the visuals were recorded on. She had a sick pink and orange guitar with a checkered strap that she was playing away on. She started the night with “everybody hates me.” This song starts off very edgy and has more of a poppy chorus for a fun, lighter moment. It almost makes me think of something I’ve heard before in the Scott Pilgrim vs the World soundtrack. Their set was quite short with only 8 songs performed. But, she definitely helped hype everyone up and get them ready for the night. I saw a few people on the floor singing along but not many people at all. I think this is just because she’s still such a new artist. Her stage presence was amazing though. She also had great chemistry with her band. People did get up and start singing and jumping around at the end of her set as soon as she started playing “ABCDEFU.” It was like everyone jumped up all at once and started screaming the lyrics as soon as she sang the first line. It was so cool to see. She also made a statement about the song before she presented it to us saying how grateful she was to Taylor but also how grateful she was to everyone who streamed “ABCDEFU” and helped it become such a big song and something that truly changed her life. At the end of her set she ran down the catwalk with her bandmates, held hands and all took a bow, then turned around and did a second backwards bow where she “flashed” the crowd. She was wearing black shorts under her dress but it was still funny to see her semi moon us all and smile and laugh after because she knew what she was doing. I truly loved her set. I can’t wait to see what else she puts out this year and how far she goes after this tour and the exposure it brought her. You’ll definitely catch me at her next tour. If you haven’t listened to any of her music she is a rising pop artist I definitely recommend.
Next up was MUNA. Based out of Los Angeles, the trio met at the University of Southern California and began working together in 2013 with Josette Maskin and Naomi McPherson playing together on guitars and Katie Gavin adding synth bass and vocals. In the summer of 2014, they self-released their debut EP, More Perfect, on Bandcamp and SoundCloud. The EPs success led to their signing by RCA Records in the US and Columbia Records in the UK. RCA released their self-produced debut major label EP, Loudspeaker, in May 2016. Their debut full-length album, About U, was released on February 3, 2017. In June 2017, it was announced that the band would be the opening act on the North American and European tour dates for Harry Styles. Then in 2018, the band began work on their second full-length record. In June 2019, the band announced their second album, Saves the World, which was released on September 6, 2019. The album was preceded by its lead single, “Number One Fan,” followed by the singles “Who,” “Stayaway,” and “Taken.” Following their London shows at the Village Underground, it was announced that MUNA would be returning to the UK for their Saves the World Tour in December 2019. In 2020, shortly after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, MUNA was dropped by RCA. It was then announced in May 2021, that MUNA had signed with Phoebe Bridgers’ record label Saddest Factory. In September 2021, MUNA released their single “Silk Chiffon” featuring Bridgers, their first since signing to the label. Rolling Stone called it a “buoyant track with an uncharacteristically bright declaration of queer love.” In March 2022, the band released the single “Anything But Me” and announced that their third studio album self-titled MUNA would be released on June 24, 2022, through Saddest Factory and Dead Oceans. Following their self-titled third album’s release, MUNA was acclaimed by music critics who have scored it as the band’s highest-rated album. It became the band’s first charting album on multiple charts including the UK Albums Chart, US Billboard 200 and in Australia and Scotland.
MUNA erupted onto the stage with such energy that they immediately had the crowd’s attention. Katie, their lead singer, was wearing the cutest outfit. She was wearing a cute black mini skirt, which reminded me of some of their lyrics from “Silk Chiffon” because she talks about wearing a mini skirt in her lyrics. But she also wore this amazing cropped button up, black tie and black leather gloves. It was iconic. They opened up with “What I Want” a high energy poppy song that had tons of the crowd on their feet singing along. The whole group has such amazing energy on stage and we’re dancing around. Katie as well as the other band mates made a point to run up and down the catwalk and make use of the whole stage, unlike Gayle who stayed at the very end of the stage till the end. At one point they were all running around each other in the middle of the “diamond” on the stage. It was so cool to watch their personalities shine through. It was evident they were having the time of their life. It also needs to be stated that this was the first date MUNA performed on the Eras Tour. It was clear they had been waiting for their chance to shine. The crowd ate them up. Katie really knew how to get them going by leaning over the stage, pointing and making people dance along with her. The crowd control was so cool to see. Towards the end of their set they stopped and took a moment to dedicate their song “I Know a Place” to all the trans and LGBT humans in the crowd. It was so beautiful to hear them talk about their own struggles and how the song impacted them and their lives. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t make me cry just a little bit. It truly was beautiful. I saw several more members of the crowd stand up for this and start dancing and singing along. The last song they played was “Silk Chiffon” and by this point in the show everyone was up and dancing and singing along. It was super apparent which songs of theirs were crowd faves and had gone viral on streaming platforms. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end and they took their bows and left the stage. All in all, I loved their performance and I truly can’t wait to see them live again. Their energy was so much fun to watch, they looked like 3 best friends on stage living their best lives. I remember feeling happy and proud for them the whole time. If you haven’t heard of them and want to add some of their music to your library I definitely recommend it. I can’t wait to see them again one day when they are on their own headlining tour.
And then, the star of the show. The woman 69,000 people had gathered to see. Our headliner: Taylor Swift. Born in West Reading, Pennsylvania, she moved to Nashville at age 14 to become a country artist. She signed a songwriting deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing in 2004 and a recording contract with Big Machine Records in 2005. Her 2006 self-titled debut album made her the first female country artist to write a U.S. platinum-certified album. Her next two albums, Fearless (2008) and Speak Now (2010), explored country pop. “Love Story” and “You Belong with Me” were the first country songs to top the U.S. pop and all-genre airplay charts. She experimented with rock and electronic styles on Red (2012), which featured her first Billboard Hot 100 number-one song, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”, and averted her country image in her synth-pop album 1989 (2014), supported by chart-topping songs “Shake It Off“, “Blank Space“, and “Bad Blood“. Media scrutiny inspired her next album Reputation (2017) and its number-one single “Look What You Made Me Do“. Swift moved to Republic Records in 2018. She released her seventh album Lover (2019) and autobiographical documentary Miss Americana (2020), influenced by political disillusionment. She then ventured into indie folk and alternative rock in her 2020 albums Folklore and Evermore, whose singles “Cardigan” and “Willow” topped the Hot 100. Swift then began re-recording her first six albums after a dispute with Big Machine over the masters, having released Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version) in 2021; the latter’s “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” became the longest song to top the Hot 100. Then in 2022 her album Midnights and single “Anti-Hero” broke multiple records. Having sold over 200 million records globally, Swift is one of if not the best-selling musicians in history. She is the most streamed woman on Spotify and the only woman to have five albums open with over one million copies sold in the US. Among her accolades are 12 Grammy Awards, including three Album of the Year wins; an Emmy Award; 40 American Music Awards; 29 Billboard Music Awards; three IFPI Global Recording Artist of the Year awards; and 92 Guinness World Records. Swift has been featured in rankings such as Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time, Billboard’s Greatest of All Time Artists, the Time 100 and Forbes Celebrity 100. Honored with titles such as Artist of the Decade and Woman of the Decade, Swift is an advocate for artists’ rights and women’s empowerment.
The screen on the main stage turned into a clock and started ticking down as “You Don’t Own Me” by SAYGRACE started playing. Suddenly everyone from outside getting alcohol and snacks came running to their seats. Before long the clock made its way to 0 and everyone screamed so loud it was almost deafening. The opening of this tour was absolutely immaculate and something everyone could appreciate, not just Swifties. Dancers came on stage with these super tall flowing, shell-looking pieces of fabric mounted to them while her opening “song” played. It was a mashup of all her eras into one audio. It was breathtaking. They made their way to the middle of the diamond, all leaned forward to where the fabric covered one spot in the middle of the floor and then quickly moved away to reveal Taylor popping up from under the stage. Talk about an entrance! She opened The Lovers Era with a mash-up of her songs “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince” and “Cruel Summer.” This opening was surreal to watch and made me cry along with most of the crowd. It was so powerful. She took a brief pause between the mash-up to hype up the crowd, welcome everyone, and ask if we were ready for the first bridge of the night. She quickly got back to it and belted the “Cruel Summer” bridge as everyone screamed along. She then stopped again to tell everyone that their support and cheering made her feel “like the man” and that segwayed into her playing “The Man.” She then performed “You Need to Calm Down” which was absolutely stunning to see in the stadium because as we made our way inside we all got light up wristbands, and during this part of her set, everyone’s wristbands made a rainbow throughout the stadium. Easily one of the top 10 coolest things I’ve ever seen in my life. It really felt almost as if I was watching a Broadway show and not some concert in a stadium. The stage production, the lights, the outfits, the dancers. It was unlike any concert I have ever been to in my entire life.
Up next was The Fearless Era but not before she made a quick wardrobe change into a stunning gold dress, very similar to the one she wore on the Fearless tour. I also have to share that Taylor has had one of her guitarist Paul, with her on tour performing since the very start of her career and during this part of her performance, she walks up to him and blows him a kiss which was super cute to see and then does the infamous “fearless twirl” and throws up her hands in the shape of a heart. It was all so nostalgic to see. She then performed “You Belong with Me” and closed out this era with “Love Story”. Never in a million years did I think that I would ever hear “Love Story” live, especially since it was the song that I sang in my fifth-grade talent show.
As The Fearless Era came to an end, the stage started smoking and sparks were flying all down the stage while the guitarists had a brief guitar solo battle while Taylor walked off and made her next wardrobe change for The Evermore Era. The visuals quickly changed to become a forest and trees popped up from the stage as she started performing, “’tis the damn season.” At the end of this song, the stage went dark again to prepare for “Willow.” All of a sudden they were dancers on the stage holding these glowing glass orbs dancing around her. It was super spooky and made the whole crowd “oooo” and “ahh” including myself. Then she completely changed the pace of the show, and performed “Marjorie”. A super emotional song about her grandmother who passed away while she was 13, and never had the chance to become a famous opera singer. Everyone in the crowd held up their phone flashlights to pay respects during this. There wasn’t a dry eye in the whole place. Apparently, Atlanta was the first city to do this and by the end, Taylor was crying too.
And it was time for The Reputation Era. She stomped back onto the stage with a fierceness I’ve never seen in my life and started off with “Ready For It.” I think this era was the one that truly had everyone screaming louder than they had all night. It was absolutely insane. She then performed “Delicate” and “Don’t Blame Me”, a crowd favorite with an insane triple high note belt that had everyone screaming “take me to church” right before she hit her high notes, all these streams of light and lasers shot up from the stage and it truly felt like she was about to “take us to church.” At the end of “Don’t Blame Me”, she changed the lyrics to “don’t blame me for what you made me do” and quickly segues into “Look What You Made Me Do” finishing off The Reputation era.
Another quick wardrobe change, and she was back on the stage in this amazing gown to perform “Enchanted” for The Speak Now Era. She looked like an actual princess. This is the only part of the show that was disappointing for me. I personally love Speak Now, and the fact that she only gave us one song era made me sad. The next era was The Red Era which included tracks like “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”, “22” and the infamous “All Too Well (10 minute version)”. There’s a line in “All Too Well” where she talks about snow, and at that exact moment snow shaped confetti flew out from the stage and fell down on everyone. She also did this again with leaves during one section of the song where she talks about autumn leaves.
After another brief, maybe 60-90 second intermission she appeared on the stage on top of the roof of the “folklore cabin” that she used in her Grammy performance to start off The Folklore Era. She opened with “The One,” singing it while she was laying on top of the cabin. The moss covered cabin and the visuals were just so gorgeous. She then closed out this era with her track “Cardigan” which had everyone in their feelings and singing along. It was then The 1989 Era. The visuals slowly started to show a city in the bottom corner of the screen, getting bigger and bigger and bigger until it was ultimately the size of the stage. Suddenly we hear the beginning of “Style”, and Taylor walks out, accompanied by other dancers on bicycles with light up wheels. This was super cool, because wherever the bikes rode around on the stage, a trail of light followed behind. She wore this super cute orange, two piece sequin set and made her way along every point of the stage to smile and wave at all of her fans. She then closed out this era with “Bad Blood,” which had the entire stadium lit up with pyro.
She has been doing two surprise songs every night on this tour. Every night gets two new songs as a way to really make sure she’s performing her entire discography. Our surprise songs were “I Bet You Think of Me,” which is a vault track from Red (Taylor’s Version), and “How You Get the Girl” from 1989. During the surprise songs, all the bracelets also change color to coordinate with the color of that era which is super fun to see. If you didn’t know, she had 10 different colors that signify each of the 10 eras. So we got red obviously for Red (Taylor’s version) and then a light blue for 1989. The bracelets also made cool designs, so during Folklore, all the bracelets lit up to look like they were trees, during Lover all the bracelets lit up to be shaped like a sea of hearts, and then during Reputation, it looked like there were snakes slithering through the crowds of people. I wish more concerts did this. Also, she does this really cool thing at the end of her surprise songs, where she dives into the stage, and then the stage lights up to look as if she is swimming through the ocean or some sort of water. Then the water splashes up and we get our final transition into The Midnights Era.
She started off with “Lavender Haze.” Her dancers come out onto the stage with life size clouds on rolling ladders. They all basically circle around her during this performance. She’s made another outfit change too. This time she’s in an oversized sequin T-shirt dress. Everyone is still singing along to every word as if their life depends on it. You can almost hear the crowd louder than her at points from everyone screaming lyrics at her. Next was “Anti-Hero,” my fave track off Midnights. This part of the set also had cool visuals. While Taylor was performing a bigger, a Godzilla sized Taylor is on the screen behind her stomping through a city and being attacked by helicopters. It’s super cool. Big Taylor even waves at us and begs us to look at her. Next was “Midnight Rain,” which easily had the coolest wardrobe change of the night. Taylor starts off on a pedestal in the middle of the stage, then hops off the stage. Right at the beginning of the short melodic bit that’s maybe 15 seconds long, then, when her vocals kick back in, she appears out from under all these umbrellas being held by her dancers in a completely new one-piece jeweled bodysuit with a cute leg garter to match. As you can imagine, the crowd went wild for this. As did I. She then moves on to the hottest part of her set in my opinion: “Vigilante Shit.” Taylor and her dancers bring out these chairs and dance seductively with the chairs and seduce the entire crowd. It really makes you feel like you’re watching a burlesque show. I don’t think any of us ever expected to see that sexy side of Taylor. People were absolutely losing their minds and screaming at the top of their lungs. It was insane. She then performs “Bejeweled” and the whole stage lights up and makes it appear that there are actual gems coming out of the stage. She follows up with “Mastermind” where she has more amazing choreography, and at one point throws her arm out, and all of her dancers around her fall to the ground as if she’s a puppet master. Lastly, she closes out the show with “Karma”. Taylor, as well as all of her dancers come back on the stage in these super cool, tassel fringe coats, each of a different color and dance around all corners of the stage before all lining up with all arms around each other, as multicolor confetti shoots up, signifying each era and fireworks go off. It truly felt like something that you would see at the end of the movie or Broadway performance. It was simply magical.
All in all, Swiftie or not I feel like this tour has something for everyone to appreciate. I literally cannot say enough good things about this tour. It was easily one of the best nights of my life and if I could become a roadie and travel around and go to every single show on this tour, I would. Taylor’s vocals, stage presence, all of it left me wanting more even after hearing her perform for three hours. I cannot recommend this tour enough. I truly feel so blessed and honored to have been there, I feel like I was a part of history considering all the achievements she has made on this tour. I can’t wait to see what other records she breaks with this tour.
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour Setlist – Atlanta GA on 4/30/2023
Lover
- Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince (shortened)
- Cruel Summer
- The Man
- You Need To Calm Down (shortened)
- Lover (spoken intro)
- The Archer (extended outro)
Fearless
- Fearless (shortened)
- You Belong With Me
- Love Story
Evermore
- ‘tis the damn season (shortened)
- willow
- marjorie (shortened)
- champagne problems (shortened)
- tolerate it (extended intro w/ keys)
Reputation
- …Ready for It? (extended intro)
- Delicate
- Don’t Blame Me (shortened)
- Look What You Made Me Do
Speak Now
- Enchanted (extended intro)
Red
- 22
- We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
- I Knew You Were Trouble (shortened)
- All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (spoken intro)
Folklore
- the 1
- betty (spoken intro)
- the last great american dynasty
- August
- illicit affairs (shortened)
- my tears ricochet
- cardigan
1989
- Style (shortened)
- Blank Space
- Shake It Off
- Wildest Dreams (shortened)
- Bad Blood (shortened)
Surprise Songs
- I Bet You Think About Me (Live Debut; on guitar)
- How You Get The Girl (Tour Debut; on piano)
Midnights
- Lavender Haze
- Anti-Hero
- Midnight Rain
- Vigilante Shit
- Bejeweled
- Mastermind
- Karma
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