A once in a lifetime experience. My experience with the Taylor Swift ‘Eras Tour’ was something that I will never forget. Swift came to my hometown, Tampa, so she could perform three consecutive shows at Raymond James Stadium. She had concerts on April 13, April 14, and April 15, which were all sold out. I attended both the Thursday night and Saturday night shows. Initially, I was only planning to attend the Thursday show, but after attending the concert and having the time of my life, I could not pass up the opportunity to see the one and only, Taylor Swift, one last time while she was in the city where I reside.  

On Thursday night, I sat in the nosebleeds, but on Saturday, I was able to score tickets only a few rows up from the floor, so I was able to see the show from two hugely different angles. The energy was the same in both parts of the stadium, as everyone was equally excited, joyous, and psyched to see their favorite singer/songwriter.  

The shows consisted of three hours of straight music. Taylor performed songs from each one of her albums and labeled them each as an era.  

She opened the show with her Lover Era.  She wore a pastel-colored leotard that was covered in sparkles in rhinestones. I immediately sobbed when she appeared on the stage in such a striking outfit. Although the song she opened with was not too emotional, it still caused me to tear up instantly. The energy was so powerful because of the audience and the music that I simply could not hold back my tears. As the audience was taken through the adventure that is the Lover Era, she sang Cruel Summer, The Man, You Need To Calm Down, Lover, and The Archer.  

Following the first era, Swift jumped back in time to one of her first eras, Fearless. She changed into a gold romper with sparkly tassels hanging off. She sang Fearless, You Belong With Me, and Love Story.  

She then performed songs from Evermore, one of her albums released at the height of the pandemic. The stage set for this era was stunning. It had a whimsical, naturistic feel and highlighted several fake pine trees. She sang Tis The Damn Season, Willow, Marjorie, Champagne Problems, and Tolerate It.  

After Evermore, she quickly changed into a black, sequin one piece with a red snake on it for her iconic Reputation album. This era was my favorite to hear live. The dancers and band made this era such an iconic part of the show. She sang Ready For It, Delicate, Don’t Blame Me, and Look What You Made Me Do. The power of the performances of these songs was remarkable. Each person in the stadium belted each song, making the energy unmatched. I saw Swift in concert for her Reputation tour four years ago, which made this section even more memorable as I had heard several of the songs live before in the same exact stadium.  

Next, she played only one song from the Speak Now era, which was Enchanted. She wore a stunning gown. Many fans were frustrated that this was the only song on her setlist from Speak Now, but Taylor made up for this as two of her four surprise songs at the shows I attended were from this album.  

Red came after this. Swift sang 22, We Are Never Getting Back Together, I Knew You Were Trouble, and the ten-minute version of All Too Well. The stadium lights flashed red throughout this section of the show. The performance of All Too Well had the entire audience screaming, crying, and singing their hearts out. The song grew in popularity over the last year since Swift released her version of the ten minute version of the song. She talked about the popularity of the song before she sang if and explained that it is one of her favorites to perform, especially because of the fans admiration for the hit.  

Following Red, she played Folklore, which is the second pandemic album that Swift released. The album consists of several calm, slow paced songs. Swift sang seven songs from this album. My favorite was August which I listened to repeatedly back in 2022. I remember listening to this song on a train ride I took across New England during spring. I listened to this song while watching the flowers bloom on the trees outside of the train I was on, and Taylors performance gave off the same feeling that I felt on that train ride. It was magical, peaceful, and powerful.  

Moving forward, Swift dived into the 1989 era which is one of her most popular eras. She sang Style, Blank Space, Shake It Off, Wildest Dreams, and Bad Blood. During this section of the show, I was sitting next to my sister. We belted each of these songs and my throat was in so much pain by the end of the 1989 era. My favorite song from this era was Bad Blood because of the special effects that were added to this performance. Swift had fire shooting out from the floor of the stage surrounding her and this made the song so much more powerful.  

After 1989, Swift typically performs two surprise songs at each show. On the Thursday show, she performed Speak Now and Treacherous. On Saturday, she performed Mean and Mad Women. Both Mean and Speak Now are from the Speak Now album, which excited fans because of the lack of Speak Now Era songs on the original setlist.  

Lastly, Swift performed her most recent era, Midnights. She sang Lavender Haze, Anti-Hero, Midnight Rain, Vigilante, Bejeweled, Mastermind, and Karma. Karma was by far my favorite song from the entire night. The production of this song was like no other. There were fireworks shooting into the sky, confetti falling onto the audience, and an amazing dance performance beside Swift. I stood up watching the performance of Karma in tears because I was so thrilled that I had just experienced such an event. It was more amazing than I could have imagined. It is unlikely that I will ever stop talking about the concerts because I am still bursting with happiness that I was able to attend such a remarkable show.  

The Eras Tour will continue for the next few months. Tickets are sold out on most sites, but you can visit https://www.taylorswift.com/ to learn more about the one and only, Taylor Swift.