Concerts are often and pretty much always an indescribable experience of sorts. There’s something special about each, no matter how fond you are of the band and the music playing. Sometimes, it’s about the moment or the people standing beside you. And sometimes, while you’re sardined in a large arena, you look around and realize that what you’re witnessing is history in the making. That’s what Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is—history. It’s indescribable, incandescent magic.
Whether it’s every magnetic outfit Swift wears, the sheer passion she puts into every performance, the anticipation of the surprise songs, or the anticipation for album rerelease announcements, every moment of the Eras tour is one for the books. Two of our team members, Meredith Loftus and Gissane Sophia (me), got to attend the second to last night in Los Angeles, and it was otherworldly. Something I’ll be sure to tell my grandchildren about—something I can’t stop thinking about. I’ve seen small venue shows and big arena concerts featuring childhood favorite bands, but I’m sure now I’ll never experience something like Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.
To experience the magic of “august” in August or the sheer hope in “Long Live” during an especially pressing time felt tailor-made for me. And that’s the thing about an artist like Taylor Swift that makes her so special. Anyone who’s a fan can say this and genuinely mean it—there’s a song for all of us, a moment that hits just when we need it too, and a lyric (or many) that we’ll forever carry. Whether we’re a fan from the beginning or joined just yesterday, Swift is the kind of artist who will leave her mark as the safe space in which we all find ourselves entangled.
And the best part of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is that we get to experience it all—every beautifully incredible album in one moment of time, even if we don’t hear all our favorite songs. We also all have our story with Taylor Swift, when we started listening to her and when we became a fan fan. Quick, everyone, shout about your moment, I started listening in the beginning, but I always say 1989 was the album to change the game. And then folklore and evermore and Midnights made me insufferable. It’s the addition of these three albums, as well as all my favorites from the past, that made me want to go back to an arena tour (because I’m generally not fond of them). But we’re not here for my story; we’re here for the highlights.
It’s impossible to narrow down the best parts of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour when it’s every single moment of the entire concert, including the intervals of waiting from one album to the next. It’s how she sparkles and puts so much heart into every movement that you find yourself utterly entranced by her in a way you never thought possible. It’s not hyperbolic to say I’ve never seen a performer do what she does—I’ve never had a more marvelous time, losing my voice the day after and still replaying every song, wondering how on earth I’m not sick of any of it yet.
Concerts are the best kind of escapism, and the Eras Tour, like Swift’s music, allows for a moment where it doesn’t feel like the entire world is falling apart. You could stand there and scream, letting it all out before returning to all the problems plaguing you, trying to hold on only to the best memories. The production design, the costumes, the lights, the acoustics, the sets, there’s no better word to describe them all other than perfect. It’s a perfect show from beginning to end, no matter how you look at it. It’s a moment in time for all the kids who’ve felt alone to know that they could face it all, friendship bracelets there to remind us that we’ve got no reason to be afraid.