“It’s you and me, that’s my whole world.” With these words, popstar Taylor Swift reveals her presence on the expansive stage of Sofi Stadium, Inglewood, to a screaming crowd of seventy thousand people on August 3rd, 2023. The words serve both as the opening lyrics to the first song she’ll sing tonight– “Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince” from her Lover album– as well as a promise to us ‘Swifties’.
From hard-core fans to casual listeners, five-year olds to senior citizens, the Swifties have shown up in style: we are dressed to the nines in outfits mirroring our favorite of ten albums. Ten ‘eras’ may be a more appropriate term, considering this is the Eras Tour. Our arms are laden with friendship bracelets traded with other fans, a new tradition stemming from the lyrics of “You’re On Your Own, Kid” from her most recent Midnights album. We are taking the moment and tasting it, awash in the excitement of this evening and enchanted by the anticipation in the air.
The countdown has finished. The dancers are on stage. The band is ready. The cleaning cart (an inside joke) has come and gone. Taylor Swift is now here, and three hours of magic commence.
We start with Swift’s enthusiastic ‘Lover’ Era, basking in her songs about contentment and trust in a beautiful relationship, the electronic bracelets on her wrist pulsing different colors in tune with the beat of the music. The bracelets are just another way that Swift can involve the audience in her large-scale performance. As I dance to the songs I (and every other person in the stadium) have long memorized, my mind wanders to the words Swift chose to open the concert with. It’s you and me; a hard promise to keep to seventy thousand people, but one Swift maintains masterfully. The entire concert feels intimate, despite the size and scale befitting “the music industry”, an affectionate moniker gifted to her originally by Barbara Walters and adopted immediately by her Swifties.
After the Lover Era, hearts dissolve into sparkles for her nostalgic “Fearless” Era, followed by melancholy “Evermore”, vengeful “Reputation”, lovestruck “Speak Now”, whimsical “Folklore”, and poppy “1989”. After 1989, she sings two unique songs, and today we are blessed with the sound of “Maroon” and “I Can See You”. She finishes her concert with her triumphant “Karma”, and confetti falls to the ground.
