As Taylor Swift ascended to the stage during the opening moments of “The Eras Tour” (get tickets here), she emerged from billowing clouds of soft-hued tapestry in a glittering rhinestone bodysuit. She presented herself as the sergeant-at-arms ready to take her infantry of Swifties into the great pop battle through the 10 eras of her 17-year career with 44 tracks over more than three hours.
The second weekend of “The Eras Tour” at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium on March 24th and 25th drew locals, Swifties who flooded the roads driving in from neighboring states, and international diehards from destinations far and wide. It had been a long time since Swift played Las Vegas and she broke the dry spell in a big way. As she took the stage for night three and four of “Eras”—a sold-out doubleheader in the desert — Swift rolled in a winner.
The orientation for this grand presentation was 2019’s Lover era, which included six songs: “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince,” “Cruel Summer,” “The Man,” “You Need to Calm Down,” Lover,” and “The Archer.”
“We are about to go on a grand adventure,” Swift announced prior to performing “The Man.” “I’ll be your host this evening. My name is Taylor.” This was followed by a return to the familiar “Lover”-video dollhouse set, its rooms symbolizing each one of her albums. In “The Archer,” that house became engulfed in a rain of pyrotechnics—washing away in a blast of fire instead of water.
“Eras” was quite the adventure, as Swift promised. The show was loaded with heavy artillery from albums for which she has not yet toured, including 2019’s Lover, 2020’s Evermore and Folklore and 2022’s Midnights. Overall, the career highlight reel featured 12 live debuts. Those fresh moments were backed up by a smattering from Swift’s previous albums, tours and videos from eras including Taylor Swift (2006), Fearless (2008), Speak Now (2010), Red (2012), 1989 (2014), and Reputation (2017). The motifs, arrangements, costumes, dance moves and visuals drawn from those works were sometimes presented literally and at other times more nuanced and interpretive.
Despite the callback, for Swift, there is no time like the present and this era belongs to her. “The Eras Tour” aimed to engage all human senses, offering an extraordinary 4-D cognitive experience through its innovative stage design, cutting-edge visual mapping, and top-of-the-line production values that far surpassed most of today’s touring show standards.