I’ve been a Taylor Swift fan since her first self-titled album, back when I was a certified angsty preteen singing my heart out to “Teardrops on My Guitar” before I even had a boyfriend to cry about. She released “Fifteen” from her sophomore record, Fearless, when I was coincidentally 15 as well, and through her 17 years in music, I’ve followed her through the eras from country, pop, indie-folk and back. However, I’ve never seen her live, so imagine my giddiness when my friend scored face-value tickets for the Eras Tour.
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour started its run in Glendale, Arizona on March 17, and she just wrapped this year’s U.S. shows with a six-night run at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on August 9. As her devotees have seen on social media, each city and performance has their own distinct flavor, generating anticipation for everyone who is seeing Taylor live. The tour’s signature moves include two surprise songs that aren’t on the official set list per show, and Taylor sharing the limelight with musical guest stars such as Phoebe Bridgers in Nashville to Ice Spice in New Jersey. Outside of official stage moments, multiple nameworthy celebrities have been spotted in the bleachers, singing their hearts out and jingling their wrists full of beaded friendship bracelets.
Below, the top six surprising moments from Taylor Swift’s six nights in Los Angeles.
For every performance of “22”, the singer gifted the black hat she wears on stage to one lucky fan. On August 3, she gave the accessory to Kobe Bryant’s daughter, Bianka. They shared a sweet embrace while her mother, Vanessa, looked on. The poignant hand-off quickly went viral, warming the hearts of Angelenos and Swifties alike.
Showcasing some love to her debut album along with the extra tracks on the deluxe edition of 1989, Taylor performed “Our Song” and “You Are In Love” for the first time since 2015 as her two surprise songs of the night. Fans danced and swayed along to both nostalgic tunes, reliving their own romantic love stories.
The first three shows in SoFi had camera crews spotted on stage, as fans speculated Taylor was working on a behind-the-scenes concert project to be released on a streaming platform in the near future. August 5 was the final evening being filmed, so Taylor made sure to add some extra oomph and dazzle to her three-hour-plus set list for the documentary.
Gracie Abrams kicked off the night with her pop hit, “Where do we go now?” and set the mood with her crooning. HAIM played shortly after, with an explanation about their San Fernando Valley roots and a shoutout to all the Valley girls in the crowd for their hometown show, before bursting into song for “Want You Back”. Later that evening, Taylor re-iterated how she was so lucky to have her favorite band and best friends, HAIM, join her on stage for a dynamic duet of “no body, no crime” off her album Evermore.
Royalty was in the house that night. Meghan Markle was spotted in the stadium for an evening of Taylor. She was with a close friend, Lucy Fraser, but Prince Harry was nowhere in sight as he was gone for a business trip in Asia. However, that didn’t stop Meghan from letting loose and singing her heart out with the rest of the cheering crowd.
Taylor is known for being extremely detail-oriented and intentional with the Easter eggs she sends out to her fans. Throughout the whole show, she was seen with new costumes in multiple tones of blue, different from outfits she wore in prior performances. Towards the end during her acoustic surprise songs set, she drops an announcement.
“And so now here we are, on the last night of the U.S. leg of the Eras Tour, in the eighth month of the year on the ninth day of the month,” she said, referencing the date as 8/9. “But I think instead of telling you about it, I think I’ll just sort of show you something.” The screen behind her flashed to an announcement of the re-release of her album, 1989 (Taylor’s Version), set for October 27th, 2023, as the crowd screamed in excitement for what’s next.
After concluding the August 9th show and the U.S. stretch of her tour this year, Taylor was seen strolling backstage in a sparkly purple dress and holding a glass of white wine, blowing kisses to her crew members and fans. Until the next one.
