“It’s been a long time coming…” was the first line of Taylor Swift’s Era’s Tour this past weekend at Gillette Stadium. The statement couldn’t have been more true for myself and every other ‘Swiftie’ in the room. May 19, 2023 was the first time in five years that Swift had played in the New England area. Her previous performance in Foxborough occurred during her Reputation Stadium Tour in July of 2018. Swift was supposed to be touring Gillette again with her Lover Fest during 2020, but that was ultimately canceled due to the Covid Pandemic. So indeed, it had “been a long time coming” and Swift did not disappoint.

The concert was broken up into segments based off of her different Eras and albums, beginning with her Lover Era. From there she went through her musical careers singing hits from her albums Fearless, Evermore, Reputation, Speak Now, Red, Folklore and 1989. Then before she ends the concert with songs from her most recent album Midnights, Swift sings two surprise songs for her audience. Which vary each night of her tour. Swift performed Should’ve Said No (Debut) and Better Man (Red: Taylors Version, From The Vault) for the first night at Gillette. The next night she surprised her audience with Question…? (Midnights) and Invisible (Debut). Finally, on Sunday for her last night she sang “I Think He Knows” (Lover) and Red (Red). The performance lasted over 3.5 hours.

During her second consecutive night at Gillette, Swift performed in the pouring rain. “Of course the rain was cold and wet but it gave it a unique feeling knowing that everyone was there screaming and singing along no matter what,” said Gabby Dias ‘23, who saw Swift on Saturday night. Dias also remarked that it was impressive how “her dancers were able to do the show with a soaked stage”.

One of the biggest parts of the culture surrounding the Era’s tour is the dazzling outfits. Many fans have dedicated hours to creating outfits based on Taylor Swift songs and certain eras. Science teacher Camille Carson dressed for Swift’s Lover Era, “I went for a Lover-themed outfit with a pink flowered top, metallic silver shorts, a jean jacket, lots of heart jewelry [as well as a rain coat for the downpour],” said Carson. 

In addition to the incredible outfits, many fans also brought along homemade friendship bracelets to trade with other fans; inspired by Swifts’ lyric from “You’re On Your Own Kid”, “make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it.” Dias took part in this tradition with her friend Theresa Cullen ‘23, who said “Trading bracelets not only made me more excited for the concert, but [also] allowed me to meet people I otherwise wouldn’t have talked to at the concert.”

Taylor Swift has always been known to go above and beyond when it comes to live shows. Her Reputation Tour became the highest grossing tour of 2018, earning $266.1 million on ticket sales alone. For her Era’s tour, Swift featured different graphics on her multiple screens as well as projected onto her stage. Each Era featured an outfit change and props to match the vibe of her music. And, just as she has done on her previous tours, each fan that entered the stadium was given an interactive bracelet that synced with each performance.

“I loved singing along to “Love Story” with my friends because it is something I listened to a bunch when I was younger,” Dias said while recalling the song as one of her favorite performances. “I also saw a couple get engaged as she sang [the lyrics] “baby say yes” which was amazing to see just a few rows in front of me!”

Another fan favorite of the weekend was Swifts’ “Champagne Problems” from her album Folklore. The track was played acoustic on the piano and every night elicited a standing ovation that lasted over 3 minutes. “..The crowd cheered [for so long that] Taylor didn’t even know what to do,” said Dias.

All things considered, it truly is the environment that makes a Taylor Swift concert. As Cullen put it best, “…everyone there was making friends and supporting each other.” The real incredulous part of Swift’s tours are the fans, their dedication with costumes and posters and the continued love they show not only to Taylor, but to one another.