Taylor Swift sent Taylor nation into a frenzy when the industry icon announced The Eras Tour on Good Morning America in November. Her first tour after the record breaking Reputation Tour five years ago and Lover Fest. Swift tantalized fans, describing the upcoming phenomenon as "a journey through all of my musical eras of my career." From Debut to Midnights. The thought of being able to hear her angelic, mature, and whimsical voice revitalize the raw lyrics of a heartbroken teenager filled with angst, who was trying to find her place in the world, will be an out of body experience.
Some of you may be thinking that I am just another crazed swiftie that thinks the world revolves around Taylor. I am. But the impact this tour will have on not just the music industry, but entertainment industry, will be insurmountable and undeniable. The Eras Tour will be the highest grossing tour in history. 2.4 million tickets sold, with 3.5 million requests on November 15th, with myself being just one of those making it the largest number of tickets sold in a single day. Taylor Swift's presale conundrum shined the spotlight on the vile and unethical practices used by the likes of Ticketmaster, Livenation, and Stubhub, which is an unfortunate and inevitable aspect of any live event nowadays. Correction, it was not Taylor Swift's issue, it was Ticketmaster. They said they could handle Swift's command and demand, and they could not. The company that is responsible for selling tickets to nearly all major entertainment events could not satisfy the people's demand for Swift.
An approximate $554 million raised off of 52 announced shows across North America, and it is not sold out. This would make The Eras Tour the 6th highest grossing tour in history, before she has even given one of her renowned pre-performance monologues. After the global tour dates are announced, The Eras Tour will be the first to eclipse 1 Billion USD. Solidifying her title as THE music industry. Our Capitalist Queen is salivating looking at that $1,000,000,000 figure.
With that being said, I am going to be the idiot mansplaining to Taylor Swift as to why she should have taken a different route for the upcomming tour. *assuming this will not be her last tour*
As soon as Swift announced The Eras Tour, as excited as I was, my mind immediately thought she was making a mistake. I think Taylor should have gone on tour focussing on her last four albums: Lover, Folklore, Evermore, and Midnights. And subsequently, once all remaining Taylor's Versions are released, kick off The Eras Tour.
One of the things I appreciate most about Taylor Swift, is the evolution through not just her music, but herself. Each album represents a distinct "era", hence the name of this upcoming tour. Each album has a distinct and unique feel. Taylor goes all out letting the world know that she's on some new shit. That the old Taylor is dead and a new one is born.
Unfortunately, for both the fans and Taylor, we were not able to experience the last four eras adequately. I think it would be a disservice for her to not be able to, as much as possible, indulge in the blissful nature of Lover, the rustic aesthetic of Folklore and Evermore, and the dreamyness of Midnights. Instead, concert goers will simply have to hope to experience songs like Cruel Summer from Lover or cry out:
"'She would've made such a lovely bride
What a shame she's fucked in the head', they said"
from Evermore's Champagne Problems, in the same setlist if they are lucky. That is if Mother will actually acknowledge, what is in my opinion her crowning achievement, Evermore. She simply has too many of what I refer to as "Golden Gate bridges" to attempt to make a ~20 song setlist from all 10 of her albums; which now includes two sets of vault tracks from Fearless (Taylor's Version) and Red (Taylor's Version). A setlist that will almost certainly include a plurality focused on her newest album, Midnights.
And that focus on Midnights is what makes me apprehensive. In an ideal world, Taylor might concoct a setlist of 5, 3, 1, 6 respectfully for a Lover to Midnights setlist (with one surprise song/guest). Instead, we are likely going to end up with probably 4-6 (I would estimate on the higher end) from Midnights for The Eras Tour. This leaves ~14 slots, if we are lucky enough to get as many as 20 songs in a set-list, to experience the nine other eras. That's a shame.
Appealing to both the Queen's capitalist ambitions and her obsession with perfection, the best option was to have two tours. The first being a Loverfest/Midnight hybrid with a Folklore and Evermore feature. The second being The Eras Tour once all re-recordings are complete. Setting up an opportunity to own the two highest grossing tours of all time. Hopefully the decision to go right into The Eras Tour is not a clue that it is her last tour before the remaining Taylor's Versions are released. Only time can tell.
I believe my obsession and stubbornness on this subject stems from the exemplary "Live from Paris" rendition of Lover. Specifically, the raw nature of Taylor's Cornelia Street (Live from Paris) sublime performance struck my soul to the point where attempting to listen to the original studio version has been met with an indifference, dare I say "skip", reaction. Just a girl with a guitar changing lives with a voice that even Homer could not imagine.
Had it not been for the 2020 (and ongoing) pandemic, the world could have been able to revel in what cannot be described as anything other than perfection. Similar to experiencing Lionel Messi step on a football pitch. My favorite pop culture development of 2022 was the crossover between Swift and Messi fans thanks to the 2022 Qatar World Cup. When watching it, you're speechless, in awe, and fulfilled. It doesn't make sense, but for some reason, this stranger, that does not even know you exist, can fill you with a sense of self-fulfillment.
The only way to salvage both the setlist conundrum and the Ticketmaster failure, is through a concert movie experience, which I am sure is causing a bidding war if Swift is not still under contract with Disney+. Similar to the Taylor Swift Reputation Stadium Tour on Netflix and Taylor Swift: The 1989 World Tour Live, released by Apple Music which can be found on YouTube:
Allowing fans to not only experience, but re-live a life changing moment will help put many fans' frustrations at ease. But better yet, make an epic five to six hour production...hell I would want it to be 10 plus hours. Follow her through multiple performances where Taylor is able to implement a wide range of songs from each era. Allowing the production to make an in-depth experience. With the goal to produce the ultimate experience of seeing all era's celebrated in their entirety, as they each deserve. After all, this is The Eras Tour, not a "greatest hits" tour.
With that being said, this is going to be the most successful tour of all time. I cannot believe that I am going to be in the same stadium as her. Being in front of Taylor Swift singing live. Performing for me. I still cannot fully grasp the reality that my future holds. She is inevitable. Her impact, undeniable. The greatest storyteller of our generation.
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