The Eras Tour
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It’s a Taylor Swift takeover! Swifties have been on cloud nine since The Eras Tour officially kicked off last week and will resume in Las Vegas on Friday (March 24).
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Several photos from the tour went viral, including a cup of “Lavender Haze” lemonade sold during Swift’s Eras Tour kickoff at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. The “Bad Blood” Sangria made its rounds on social media as well, but the Swift-inspired specialty lemonade seems to be a fan favorite — and it also happens to be a great beverage for spring.
How do you make lavender lemonade? It’s easier than you might think. To start, you’ll need around 3/4 ounce to one ounce of lavender syrup, a cup or more of lemonade (fresh or store-bought) and roughly half a cup to a cup of sugar. You can also substitute sugar with honey.
A Swiftie apparently shared the “official” Purple Haze Lemonade recipe from The Eras Tour on TikTok earlier in the week. The ingredients include, Empress gin, lemon juice, Falernum liqueur, rhubarb bitters and Elderflower tonic water.
We searched TikTok and Reddit to find other lavender lemonade recipes such as the “Lavender Haze” lemonade cocktail that was posted last October after Swift dropped her Midnights album.
The cocktail is made with dried lavender, fresh lemon juice, lemonade, lavender syrup, club soda and Empress 1908 Gin.
Liudmyla Yaremenko/GI
To make a non-alcoholic lavender lemonade, simply mix lavender simple syrup with lemonade, water and sugar (you can also add a non-alcoholic gin or vodka to make into a mocktail).
While there are plenty of lavender syrups in stores and online, such as Torani Lavender Syrup and Monin Lavender Syrup, you can also make your own at home. To do so, boil 1-2 cups of dried lavender flowers in a pot of with sugar and water (1:1 ratio). Once the lavender steeps, use a strainer to pour it in a cup, so the lavender buds don’t get into the liquid. Next, mix the lavender simple syrup with 1-2 cups of lemonade or more, depending on how much you’re making, add 1-2 cups of cold water, stir and refrigerate or serve over ice (you can also add a lavender flower as garnish).
Want more Swift-inspired recommendations? Read our roundup of outfits inspired by The Eras tour.
Taylor Swift isn’t just taking her show on the road for The Eras Tour, she’s also doing some major good along the way.
It was reported on Monday (March 20) that the superstar had made a sizable donation to the Arizona Food Bank Network ahead of taking the stage in Glendale, Ariz. — temporarily renamed Swift City in her honor — for the hotly anticipated start of The Eras Tour.
Swift herself didn’t publicize the donation. Instead, the food bank shared its reaction to the act of kindness with local media outlet AZ Central. “It’s not every day that you get a call from someone who works for Taylor Swift, so we were dubious at first, but happily, it turned out to be absolutely real,” vice president of external relations Terri Shoemaker told the publication.
The nonprofit exec added that she was told in the conversation that Swift planned to focus on leaving a “positive impact” on each stop along her U.S. tour route, and on Wednesday (March 22), Three Square — a food bank based in southern Nevada — revealed the singer had also made a massive donation there ahead of her back-to-back shows in Las Vegas on March 24 and 25..
“We don’t know about you, but we’re feeling grateful on this day, March 22!” the organization wrote on its official Instagram feed. “@TaylorSwift has made a generous gift to Three Square, allowing us to provide thousands of meals to families and individuals struggling with hunger. Thank you to Ms. Swift for supporting our mission and the local community.”
Billboard has reached out to Swift’s rep for comment.
The day she launched the cross-country trek, Swift also gave fans a surprise gift in the form of four new songs, including (Taylor’s Version) re-recordings of The Hunger Games tracks “Safe & Sound” with Joy Williams and John Paul White (formerly The Civil Wars) and “Eyes Open” as well as a new version of Speak Now bonus cut “If This Was a Movie” and previously unreleased Lover ditty “All of the Girls You Loved Before.”
Check out Three Square’s post about Swift’s generosity below.
Taylor Swift is taking fans on a trip through each of her albums on The Eras Tour, which launched with back-to-back shows on March 17 and 18 in Glendale, Ariz., and her costumes are part of the journey.
As the superstar took the stage at State Farm Arena on the first night, her attention to detail was ever present, as each of her outfits harkened back to a previous tour or live appearance from her 17-year career in the spotlight.
Kicking off with 2019’s Lover, Swift opened the show using a light pink acoustic guitar reminiscent of the instrument she strummed while performing at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards, where she delivered a medley of the title track and “You Need to Calm Down.” To run through early hits such as “Love Story” and “You Belong with Me” from 2008’s Fearless, she brought back her classic style from her sophomore era, donning a gold fringed dress and trading her pink guitar for a sparkly silver edition — the only thing missing was a nod to her famous mane of teenage curls.
When it came time to revisit Reputation, Tay resurrected the popular snake motif from the era (long live Karyn!), channeling her aesthetic from “Look What You Made Me Do” in a dark, asymmetrical body suit covered in glittering red serpents. And while only one song from 2010’s Speak Now was featured on the opening night’s setlist (an extended edition of deep cut “Enchanted”), the singer changed into a fairytale-like ball gown fit for a princess.
During the part of the setlist dedicated to 2012’s Red, Swift showed off a new version of the T-shirt she wore in the music video for “22” — this time emblazoned with her famously cryptic phrase “Not a lot going on at the moment.” And perhaps the most major set change during the show occurred as she welcomed the audience into the Folklorian woods of her surprise 2020 album by recreating a version of the moss-covered cabin she called home to perform a medley of “Cardigan,” “August” and Evermore lead single “Willow” at the 2021 Grammys with collaborators Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner.
The final fashion reference on the tour came when Swift went back to 1989 by changing into a crop top and short skirt, just like the many she wore back in the day with her squad.
Click through the gallery below to check out the looks from Taylor’s Eras Tour as well as their counterparts from earlier eras in her career.
‘Lover’ Era
Image Credit: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic; John Shearer/GI for TAS Rights Management
Left: Taylor at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards at Prudential Center on Aug. 26, 2019, in Newark, N.J.
Right: Performing during the opening night of The Eras Tour at State Farm Stadium on March 17, 2023, in Swift City, ERAzona (Glendale, Ariz.). The city was ceremonially renamed to Swift City for March 17-18 in honor of her tour.
‘Reputation’ Era
Image Credit: Gareth Cattermole/TAS18/GI for TAS; John Shearer/GI for TAS Rights Management
Left: Performing on stage during her Reputation Stadium Tour at Croke Park on June 15, 2018, in Dublin, Ireland.
Right: Performs during The Eras Tour at State Farm Stadium on March 18, 2023 in Swift City, ERAzona (Glendale, Ariz.).
‘1989’ Era
Image Credit: Jun Sato/GI for TS; John Shearer/GI for TAS Rights Management
Left: Performing during The 1989 World Tour at Tokyo Dome on May 5, 2015, in Tokyo.
Right: Performing during the opening night of The Eras Tour at State Farm Stadium on March 17, 2023, in Swift City, ERAzona.
‘Folklore’ & ‘Evermore’ Eras
Image Credit: TAS Rights Management 2021 via GI; Kevin Mazur/GI for TAS Rights Management
Left: Performing for the 63rd Annual GRAMMY Awards on March 14, 2021.
Right: Performing for the opening night of The Eras Tour at State Farm Stadium on March 17, 2023, in Swift City, ERAzona.
‘Fearless’ Era
Image Credit: Jason Kempin/GI; Kevin Mazur/GI for TAS Rights Management
Left: Performing during the Fearless Tour at Madison Square Garden on Aug. 27, 2009, in New York City.
Right: Performing for the opening night of The Eras Tour at State Farm Stadium on March 17, 2023, in Swift City, ERAzona.
‘Speak Now’ Era
Image Credit: Larry Busacca/GI; John Shearer/GI for TAS Rights Management
Left: Performing during the Speak Now World Tour at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 22, 2011, in New York City.
Right: Performing for the opening night of The Eras Tour at State Farm Stadium on March 17, 2023, in Swift City, ERAzona.
‘Red’ Era
Image Credit: Christopher Polk/TAS/GI for TAS; Kevin Mazur/GI for TAS Rights Management
Left: Performing for a sold-out crowd on The RED Tour at Cowboys Stadium on May 25, 2013, in Arlington, Texas.
Right: Performing for the opening night of The Eras Tour at State Farm Stadium on March 17, 2023, in Swift City, ERAzona.
Taylor Swift just made good on a promise to a fan, five years later.
One of thousands of fans in attendance at the opening Eras Tour shows in Glendale, Ariz., was Isabella McCune, a longtime fan who’d been waiting since 2018 to see the pop star live. In fact, the 13-year-old was there as a special guest of Swift’s, who gifted McCune four free tickets to night two of her State Farm Stadium dates.
The bittersweet night was years in the making, as McCune had hoped to see Swift’s Reputation Tour five years prior. Leading up to the 2018 show, she suffered a severe accident that left her hospitalized for nine months as she recovered from burns covering 65% of her body, according to ABC 15 in Arizona. During that time, she listened to the “Anti-Hero” singer’s music to help her get through the difficult time.
Swift eventually visited her young fan — then 8 years old — in the hospital after the accident, and left a sweet note reassuring McCune. “Isabella, I hope you feel better soon,” the superstar wrote in 2018. “I’m so honored you’ve been listening to my music. You’re so awesome and I can’t wait to have you at a show. Stay strong, gorgeous. Love, Taylor.”
No one could have predicted how long it would take for Swift to be able to deliver on her promise, though. Lover Fest, which was supposed to be her first tour after the Reputation trek, was initially scheduled for summer of 2020. Like most tours around that time, however, it was canceled due to the global coronavirus pandemic.
Now that the 11-time Grammy winner is finally back on the road, though, McCune’s story has finally come full circle. With the help of Live 101.5 and the Valleywise Health Foundation, Swift’s team surprised her with Eras Tour tickets, which were given to her by a medical professional while she was sitting in a hospital bed like the one she spent months of her life in five years ago.
“Not only the fact that I’m able to go and I got these tickets gifted to me, they’re from Taylor Swift and her team and they remembered me, and thought of me to give me these tickets,” she told ABC15 of the surprise.
There’s stage diving, and then there’s literally diving headfirst into a stage floor. Taylor Swift has been adopting the latter approach during the first couple dates of her highly anticipated Eras Tour, performing a one-of-a-kind stunt during a key moment in her show that has been leaving fans speechless.
The move comes toward the end of Swift’s three-hour showcase and serves as a transition from the surprise song section of her concert to the finale, which is dedicated to her most recent album, Midnights. After the 33-year-old pop star sings two random acoustic numbers from her nearly two decades-long catalog on a B-stage, she puts her hands together above her head and plunges into a Taylor-sized hole in the stage floor.
Lighting effects then make it look as though Swift is swimming underneath the catwalk connecting the B-stage and her main stage. When she emerges on the main stage, she performs Midnights single “Lavender Haze” wearing a brand new costume.
The “Anti-Hero” singer officially kicked off the Eras Tour in Glendale, Ariz. — temporarily renamed “Swift City” in her honor — with a pair of State Farm Stadium shows Friday and Saturday night (March 17-18). There were many other stunning moments throughout the concert that left Swifties reeling, from Tay’s sexy “Vigilante Shit” dance routine to her calling out Evermore critics, but the unexpected dive was definitely one of the big standouts. Almost immediately, clips of the plunge started going viral on Twitter, sparking jokes, memes and all-around awe from fans.
Watch Taylor Swift “stage dive” during her Eras Tour show in Glendale below:
aside from being a 12-time grammy winner, a doctor, a director, one of the most acclaimed songwriter of the music industry, and having a record breaking career in the arts, taylor swift is now searching for that swimming olympic medal, look at that divepic.twitter.com/4m9OlFczg7— just like honey (@invisibleday) March 18, 2023
The country’s two leading concert companies, Live Nation and AEG, are at odds over how Congress should address the future of ticketing after a disagreement over Taylor Swift’s record-breaking The Eras Tour.
Long before the pop star’s Nov. 15 sale dominated the news cycle, where hundreds of thousands of Swift fans experienced service disruptions that kept them from buying the tickets they wanted, the two companies had signed an agreement that many thought might take AEG out of the ticketing business entirely. In 2021, when AEG announced that its facility management division ASM had struck a deal to make Ticketmaster its preferred ticketing partner, many assumed that meant the company was on the way to shutting down its own ticking platform, AXS Tickets.
Instead, ASM’s contract with the Live Nation-owned Ticketmaster would pave the way for an expansion of AEG’s AXS, thanks to a provision in Ticketmaster’s exclusive agreement that granted AEG the right to use AXS to sell tickets to AEG-promoted shows at ASM venues, sources tell Billboard. AEG tours like Kane Brown, Elton John and Luke Combs could opt out of using Ticketmaster when playing ASM-client venues such as Soldier Field in Chicago, U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis and Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Ariz., and use AXS instead. This marked the largest carve-out in Ticketmaster’s exclusivity contract to date, potentially allowing hundreds of arenas, stadiums and performing arts centers to use AXS for the first time, like the new Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas — the highest grossing stadium on Billboard’s 2022 year-end Boxscore chart.
The provision was a sort of double victory for AEG, Live Nation’s leading competitor: The company was able to leverage its control over 350 ASM venues to get those clients large payouts for re-signing with Ticketmaster without forsaking its own ticketing service. AEG officials had also hoped this might mark the beginning of a more open ticketing ecosystem away from the sorts of exclusive deals that have helped Ticketmaster gain such dominance in the space. But less than two years later, AEG and Live Nation find themselves at odds, divided over the handling of Swift’s The Eras Tour.
AEG is now refusing to join a coalition of music companies supporting Live Nation’s Fair Ticketing campaign, a piece of proposed anti-scalper legislation born out of the bot attack on Ticketmaster’s Nov. 15 presale for Swift’s tour. While Universal Music Group, Red Light Management, Irving and Jeffrey Azoff, and all four major talent agencies are backing the FAIR Ticketing reforms to ban scalping practices like “speculative” ticket selling and mandating all-in pricing across all ticketing marketplaces nationally, AEG has been taking a different approach to what they see as some of ticketing’s biggest problems. Sources tell Billboard that AEG executives have been quietly lobbying the Department of Justice to investigate Ticketmaster’s use of exclusive ticketing contracts to lock up the ticket market as a possible violation of its consent decree governing its merger with Live Nation in 2010. AEG leadership is also lobbying politicians to include restrictions on such exclusive ticketing practices in new legislation that could be introduced as soon as this week.
Sources say Live Nation executives have been careful not to engage with AEG publicly about its exclusivity agreements. Privately, they have accused AEG of trying to have it both ways, accepting the money that comes with exclusive ticketing contracts, while trying to expand AXS ticketing beyond the ASM deal into all NFL stadiums ticketed by Ticketmaster.
“This is a bad look for them,” one source at Ticketmaster tells Billboard.
Since Live Nation merged with Ticketmaster in 2010 and AEG launched its own ticketing platform in 2012, both companies have found they can earn more from the concerts they promote if they also control the ticketing, collecting more fees for themselves, while keeping data generated by the concert in house. The additional revenue for a promoter like AEG could be substantial, especially for an artist like Swift, who sold a total of 2.4 million tickets for The Eras Tour.
With Swift’s tour, sources say AXS was expecting to handle some of the ticketing under the ASM-Ticketmaster provision, since AEG was a co-promoter with partner Messina Touring Group. ASM managed five stadiums, representing 12 shows on the 52-date trek, and sources say AXS officials were hoping its ties to the tour could lead to it getting some, if not all of the tour. Except that Ticketmaster executives said their exclusive contracts with more than a dozen NFL teams (and the venues they own) superseded AXS’ claim. Under that reading of the deal, two of the 12 ASM dates — a pair of concerts at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. — would be ticketed by SeatGeek under its exclusive deal with the Arizona Cardinals. Making matters worse, two of ASM’s management clients decided to partner with Ticketmaster for the sale.
Down to just five shows at two stadiums, AEG dropped the matter. According to a source, AEG executives have since spoken with the Department of Justice, encouraging them to look at Live Nation and Ticketmaster’s use of exclusive contracts as anti-competitive.
Relations only worsened in the days following The Eras Tour presale. After the fiasco, Live Nation chairman Greg Maffei appeared on CNBC to defend Ticketmaster and cited the company’s arrangement with AEG in response to claims of monopolistic behavior. “AEG, who is the promoter for Taylor Swift, chose to use us because, in reality, we are the largest and most effective ticket seller in the world,” he said. “Even our competitors want to come on our platform.” AEG leadership was quick to respond with a statement, saying the promoter had no choice but to use Ticketmaster. “Ticketmaster’s exclusive deals with the vast majority of venues on The Eras Tour required us to ticket through their system,” an AEG spokesperson said. “We didn’t have a choice.”
AEG hopes its private lobbying of politicians and anti-trust officials will lead to regulatory change that could include abolishing exclusive ticketing contracts in the United States and ultimately move toward an industry more similar to Europe, where promoters generally don’t sign exclusive ticketing deals and work with multiple partners to sell tickets.
Despite the disagreement, the ASM-Ticketmaster deal remains in place, and AEG officials have had success convincing buildings like the Greek Theater in Los Angeles and the Quicken Home Arena in Cleveland to avoid exclusive ticketing agreements and remain open to multiple systems.
Live Nation and AEG declined to comment for this story.
Taylor Swift kicked off her much-awaited The Eras tour at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. on Friday night (March 17) and she did not disappoint. The pop superstar performed for a whopping 3 hours and 15 minutes, playing songs from all 10 of her studio albums for an incredible career retrospective.
“Tonight, we’re going to be going on an adventure, one era at a time!” Swift announced a few songs into the show, before showcasing a staggering 44-song setlist of major hits and deep cuts.
Of course, looking back on Swift’s nearly two decade-long career would not be possible without capturing her evolving looks throughout the years. The 32-year-old star channeled Fearless with a sequined, fringe-lined dress and Speak Now with long flowing gowns. She later opted for colorful crop tops for 1989 and a sexy black cut-out catsuit for Reputation. She brought her cottagecore fantasies to life for Evermore and Folklore, before celebrating her most recent release, Midnights, with blue sparkling dresses.
We’ve compiled all of Swift’s looks from night one of The Eras tour, which you can check out below.
LOVER
Image Credit: Kevin Winter/GI for TAS Rights Management
Swift’s pink-toned Lover era was complete with a Versace bodysuit and knee-high Christian Louboutin boots.
LOVER
Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/GI for TAS Rights Management
She kept the Louboutin boots going, this time in a sleek silver color, paired with a Versace blazer.
FEARLESS
Image Credit: Kevin Winter/GI for TAS Rights Management
To celebrate Fearless, Swift brought back her sparkling gold fringe mini-dress courtesy of Roberto Cavalli, paired with the knee-high Christian Louboutin boots.
EVERMORE
Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/GI for TAS Rights Management
For Evermore, Swift opted for a mustard orange Etro dress with delicate embroidery, along with a matching cape and Christian Louboutin boots.
REPUTATION
Image Credit: Kevin Winter/GI for TAS Rights Management
Swift made a statement with her Reputation album, and channeled that with a Roberto Cavalli catsuit featuring a leg and arm cut-out, complete with Roberto Cavalli boots.
RED
Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/GI for TAS Rights Management
If you’ve seen the “22” music video, you’ll recognize this iconic outfit, made by Ashish.
SPEAK NOW
Image Credit: John Shearer/GI for TAS Rights Management
We were enchanted to see Swift in this Nicole + Felicia princess gown.
FOLKLORE
Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/GI for TAS Rights Management
To capture the woodsy feel of Folklore, Swift opted for a flowing purple Alberta Ferretti dress.
1989
Image Credit: John Shearer/GI for TAS Rights Management
For the 1989 era, Swift’s Roberto Cavalli two-piece set and Christian Louboutin boots were the perfect look to shake, shake, shake, shake it off in.
ACOUSTIC
Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management
For the acoustic portion of the night, Swift stunned in a magenta Jessica Jones dress.
MIDNIGHTS
Image Credit: John Shearer/G for TAS Rights Management
Swift had fans meeting her at midnight with an Oscar de la Renta faux fur coat and crystal t-shirt.
MIDNIGHTS
Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/GI for TAS Rights Management
When she took off her faux fur coast, Swift’s Oscar de la Renta t-shirt shined along with her Christian Louboutin boots.
MIDNIGHTS
Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/GI for TAS Rights Management
Oscar de la Renta completed his Midnights looks with a stunning navy blue bodysuit, which Swift paired with Christian Louboutin boots.
As if Taylor Swift beginning her long-awaited The Eras Tour wasn’t exciting enough, the superstar added to the hype on Friday (March 17) by releasing four new tracks.
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“In celebration of The Eras Tour I’m releasing 4 previously unreleased songs tonight at midnight,” she revealed on her Instagram Stories a day prior. The four tracks include re-recordings of Swift’s dual contributions to the 2012 soundtrack to The Hunger Games — “Eyes Open” and “Safe & Sound” featuring Joy Williams and John Paul White — as well as “If This Was a Movie (Taylor’s Version)” and never-before-heard song “All of the Girls You Loved Before.”
The Eras Tour is set to begin on Friday (March 17) with back-to-back shows in Glendale, Ariz., which has temporarily been renamed Swift City in honor of Swift’s imminent arrival. Support on the tour will come via a rotating cast of opening acts including Paramore, beabadoobee, Phoebe Bridgers, girl in red, Muna, Haim, Gayle, Gracie Abrams and Owenn.
Since the Reputation tour wrapped in 2018, Swift has released four original studio albums — Lover, 2020’s Folklore and Evermore, and Midnights — as well as two re-recorded albums, Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version), both in 2021.
Listen to the four new songs below.
Taylor Swift‘s much-buzzed-about The Eras Tour is set to begin on Friday (March 17) with back-to-back shows in Glendale, Ariz., and the superstar gave fans a little peek into her rehearsals.
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The “Anti-Hero” singer took to social media to share a series of photos of herself rehearsing her set onstage, dressed in olive-colored cargos, a black crop top and, of course, a red lip. “In my Eras era,” she captioned the post, which also included a photo of her multi-colored nails, which seems like each fingernail represents one of her 10 studio albums.
Swift also shared a sweet picture to her Instagram Stories of a hand-made “All Access” credential she made for her father. “D.O.H. Pass (Dad of Headliner),” the pass reads, as Swift jokingly wrote underneath, “We are a small family business.”
Her dad, wearing his new pass, then teamed up with Swift’s mom to put crystals on their famous daughter’s Fearless-inspired guitar “with super glue and a free afternoon.” Check out the multi-Grammy winner’s recap of her last rehearsal day on her Instagram Stories before they disappear here.
Earlier in the day, the “Blank Space” superstar surprised Swifties by announcing that she would be dropping four new songs ahead of her tour kickoff. “In celebration of The Eras Tour I’m releasing 4 previously unreleased songs tonight at midnight,” she revealed on her Instagram Stories. The four tracks include re-recordings of Swift’s dual contributions to the 2012 soundtrack to The Hunger Games — “Eyes Open” and “Safe & Sound” featuring Joy Williams and John Paul White — as well as “If This Was a Movie (Taylor’s Version)” and never-before-heard song “All of the Girls You Loved Before.”
While many details surrounding Taylor Swift’s feverishly anticipated Eras Tour remain obscured just days before Friday’s monstrous kickoff in Arizona, there’s at least one aspect fans should count on: There will be special guests.
Since the Speak Now Tour in 2011, Swift has established herself as the ultimate “sharing is caring” mega-headliner, welcoming a long list of artists — newcomers and icons alike — to her sprawling stages. The guest list from her 1989 tour alone was well over three dozen acts long.
But who’s most likely to appear over the next few months? As Swift has made new friends, forged new collaborations and released a heaping pile of music since the Reputation Tour in 2018 (her last roadshow), the possibilities for surprise guests are nearly endless.
We can still speculate, however! These are our best guesses for who’ll be waiting in the wings — and in which cities some may pop up — broken down into three categories:
Should Happen: The duets that feel most likely and maintain some precedent or clear link, where Swift would be remiss to not make it happen.
Could Happen: Educated guesses, but still slightly wishful thinking — based on recent trends, friendships, influences and past encounters, even if there isn’t exactly precedent.
Break the Internet Moments: The once-in-a-lifetime sort of pairings with fellow icons, which would go instantly viral and help to define the Eras Tour as the unforgettable pop culture phenomenon it’s likely to become regardless.
NOTE: Our picks do not include any scheduled Eras Tour openers, as those features feel a bit too obvious. And we’ve only selected musicians here, though we wouldn’t mind seeing Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds trot out for a dance party.
Lana Del Rey
Why It Should Happen: How Swift and Del Rey have never shared a stage is rather absurd — or at least, a statistical anomaly at this point. But their long-awaited duet should finally go down this year, as Del Rey is featured as a performer and co-writer on Midnights’ sultry slow-burn “Snow on the Beach.” We’d love to see the two pals — pillars of the Jack Antonoff superfriends club — play the new song, then fade into something from Del Rey: “Summertime Sadness” or “Young and Beautiful” would be epic, sure, but some smoldering piece of her new opus “A&W” might be more likely. And considering Del Rey’s classic Hollywood aesthetic, this would have to happen at one of the California shows, right? Probably!
Brendon Urie
Why It Should Happen: Like it or not, Swifties, there’s a good chance Swift’s less-than-beloved Lover lead single “ME!” is on tap for this tour, and when she plays the sprawling pop jam just outside Las Vegas later this month, we’re betting on Panic! At the Disco frontman (and Vegas native) Brendon Urie popping up to sing his verse. It’ll be like the 2019 Billboard Music Awards all over again — though Urie probably won’t descend from the sky on a wire. If he sticks around for an emo-tastic “I Write Sins Not Tragedies,” all will be forgiven.
Bon Iver
Image Credit: Gus Stewart/Redferns
Why It Should Happen: Fans surely recall Swift surprising a Bon Iver crowd in London last October when she emerged to perform “Exile,” her cinematic duet with Justin Vernon off 2020’s Folklore, live for the first time. Well, it’s time Vernon returned the favor. Those doleful piano plinks will reveal what’s to come — maybe in Minneapolis, as Vernon’s Wisconsin home isn’t far.
Matt Healy of The 1975
Again, Swifties have committed to memory Taylor as a surprise guest in January, once more in London, shocking an audience during a performance by The 1975. She jammed out the band’s early single “The City” and then premiered her latest smash “Anti-Hero” live (for the first time!) to manic cheers. Judging by the shrieks in the clips, it sure sounds like there’s plenty of fan overlap, so how about Matty Healy saunters out and they either redo “The City” or something bigger and brighter, like “The Sound” or “Chocolate”? Fans on both sides of the pond would be eternally jealous.
Ed Sheeran
Why It Should Happen: This one’s a given, especially as Sheeran will be criss-crossing the U.S. at the same time, touring many of the same stadiums. Surely there will be a day off where Ed’s close enough to swing by for a duet with his old pal Taylor. We’d love to see them break out “Run,” the previously unreleased tune brought back from the Red (Taylor’s Version) vault in 2021, which they’ve never performed publicly before. Swifties and Sheerios unite to manifest this moment! (Though we’d take an “Everything Has Changed” throwback, too.)
Selena Gomez
Image Credit: Christopher Polk/TAS18/GI
Why It Should Happen: Another no-brainer. They’re best friends, of course, and Gomez was a special guest on the Reputation, 1989 and Speak Now tours. And as Selena hasn’t toured on her two most recent albums, this would be a real thrill for fans — especially if they did it in Gomez’s home state of Texas. Keep an eye out, Arlington attendees! What would they sing? How about a “Lose You to Love Me” team-up? Chills!
Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner
Why It Should Happen: Who else has been dying for a recreation of Swift’s ethereal and folksy 2021 Grammys medley, where she performed snippets of “Cardigan” and “August” off Folklore (which won Album of the Year that night) and “Willow” off Evermore? Well, how about an expansion on the theme, with collaborators Antonoff and Dessner strolling out for an acoustic trio mini-set, with pieces of all those songs plus some newbies: We’re talking “August,” “Betty,” “Champagne Problems” … oh the cottage-core calamity! MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey would make sense here as Antonoff lives in New York and is a prideful Jersey guy.
Olivia Rodrigo
Why It Could Happen: Didn’t it feel for a while like Rodrigo, whose heartsleeve songwriting style is so heavily influenced by Swift, was destined to open Taylor’s next tour? Well, that didn’t happen, but Olivia is still due for a premiere duet on stage with Swift. If they were to sing one of Taylor’s tunes together, the possibilities are endless as Rodrigo has posted loads of clips of her scream-singing to “…Ready For It,” “Better than Revenge,” “We are Never Ever Getting Back Together” and more. But she’d surely stay out for a monster singalong to “Driver’s License” or rocking rendition of “Good 4 U” — give ‘em both an electric guitar!
Sabrina Carpenter
Image Credit: Gilbert Flores for Billboard
Carpenter is known as a ride-or-die Swiftie — she was covering “Picture to Burn” on YouTube when she was 10 years old. Now that the ex-Disney star and Taylor are buddies in real life — note the loving head pat at the American Music Awards last fall — it feels like a matter of time until Carpenter trots out to play her new hit “Nonsense.” Maybe she comes out at the Philly show; she’s from nearby Bucks County, not so far from Swift’s childhood home.
Lizzy McAlpine
Why It Could Happen: Swift has always been a benevolent headliner, giving space for new and breakthrough artists to open her shows — and the Eras Tour will be no different, with new “sad girl” stars Phoebe Bridgers and Gracie Abrams appearing on multiple dates. Who’s missing from that equation, you ask? It’s the ascendant singer-songwriter Lizzy McAlpine, whose viral smash “Ceilings” has commandeered TikTok for the last two months. As we suspect fan overlap between Lizzy and Taylor is sizable, a mammoth duet — maybe with Taylor pretending to do the TikTok trend, running manically across the stage as she sings — would be very cool. Again, Philadelphia might be the spot, as McAlpine hails from the Philly suburbs.
Fletcher
Why It Could Happen: We know from this year’s Grammy afterparty photos and Fletcher’s own account that Swift and the new queer-pop favorite have hung out quite a bunch, and Swift is an admirer of Fletcher’s songwriting style. So it would be extremely cool to see Fletcher, a Jersey girl, pop up at MetLife Stadium for a song. Her anthemic new bangers “Becky’s so Hot” or “Her Body Is Bible” would be incredible in the stadium setting.
Kelsea Ballerini
Why It Could Happen: “I wish she was my sister.” That was Swift on the 1989 tour in 2015, introducing Ballerini to the Nashville crowd for a surprise appearance and performance of Kelsea’s “Love Me Like You Mean It.” As the duo, who are cut from much of the same country-pop cloth, have remained friends — note those same Grammys afterparty pics — it could be time for a reunion, perhaps in Nashville again. Something from Ballerini’s new EP Rolling Up the Welcome Mat would make sense; “Mountain With a View” certainly has a Swift Red-era heartbreak vibe.
Chris Stapleton
Image Credit: Emma McIntyre/GI for The Recording Academy
Why It Could Happen: Since Taylor went through all the trouble of making a high-budget music video for “I Bet You Think About Me,” you better believe she’ll be playing the Red (Taylor’s Version) vault track at some point on this tour. And it would make sense to get the song’s featured vocalist Stapleton to come out for a smoky live collaboration. Stapleton could stick around for “Tennessee Whiskey,” too. Again, Nashville would make sense, though her Cincinnati dates are just over the border from Stapleton’s native Kentucky.
Nicki Minaj
Why It Could Happen: The Taylor-Nicki bond runs deep: Fans will recall the pair opening the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards together, and Swift singing along to “Super Bass” at the 2022 ceremony. But how about when Taylor brought Nicki out in Los Angeles in 2011 on the Speak Now Tour, where they performed the smash side by side? We love a good Taylor hip-hop moment and we’re ready for a reunion. The two are clearly still buddies — they were spotted together at the VMAs afterparty in August — so let’s make it happen!
Paul McCartney
Why It Would Break the Internet: Let’s be real: The Eras Tour will likely expand to include at least one London show at some point, considering all of Swift’s tours have played the city and she now spends loads of time there with British beau Joe Alwyn. And when Taylor crosses the pond, we’re betting she brings out Paul McCartney. Why? Because Sir Paul planned to bring Swift out during 2020’s Glastonbury festival to play “Shake It Off” — but the pandemic robbed us of that glorious moment. So it’s time the pair resolved some unfinished business.
Carole King
Image Credit: Lester Cohen/Getty Images
Why It Would Break the Internet: When Swift inducted King into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021, she called the legend “the greatest songwriter of all time,” before performing an impassioned solo rendition of “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow.” King later called Swift her “professional granddaughter.” So how cool would it be if King emerged from retirement for a duet on the same ballad? All those patient moms in the crowd would love it!
BLACKPINK
Why It Would Break the Internet: If you caught the MTV Video Music Awards last August — you know, the ceremony where Swift announced Midnights — you may recall Taylor dancing and singing along to BLACKPINK’s “Pink Venom,” proving her fandom of the K-Pop powerhouse. What if she took it a step further, and welcomed Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa and Rosé to the stage to sing “Pink Venom” together? One of the nights at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles would be fitting, considering the group is headlining Coachella this spring — let’s hope they stick around for an other-worldly moment. If Taylor officially enters K-Pop standom, it’s all over.
Miley Cyrus
Why It Would Break the Internet: Taylor and Miley haven’t sung live together since the 2009 Grammy Awards. So it sounds like it’s time for a reunion! It’d be infinitely cool for Cyrus to pop up in Nashville or L.A. or her native Texas to see them return to their “Fifteen” Fearless duet nearly 15 years later. Then Cyrus would of course break into “Flowers,” the biggest song of 2023 so far, as fans belt along in elation. Any perceived beef about Cyrus not wanting to be Swift’s “squad” is long in the rearview.
Dolly Parton
Image Credit: Gary Miller/WireImage
Why It Would Break the Internet: If there’s any city where Swift is most likely to have a guest every night, it has to be Nashville. And what better way to commemorate her veritable homecoming than by welcoming the city’s Queen to the stage for their first-ever duet? This is another one: How have Taylor and Dolly never publicly sang together? Anyway, as Miley seems to have “Jolene” on lock, Dolly taking the stage for “9 to 5” or a wildly impassioned “I Will Always Love You” would rock Nissan Stadium to its core and send country music fans into a coma.
Drake
Why It Would Break the Internet: Imagine Swift is in the Lover segment of her show and she begins the album’s playful opening track “I Forgot That You Existed.” The first verse reaches the line “In my feelings more than Drake, so yeah” — and the song cuts off. A second later, the intro to “In My Feelings” itself begins to bump and Drake trots out. “Kiki, do you love me?” It’s Lover meets Loverboy bedlam, with fans finally understanding why Drizzy posted a throwback photo of him and Taylor on social media last spring. It wasn’t a new collaboration, it was this moment all along!
Harry Styles
Why It Would Break the Internet: We’re basically writing fan fiction at this point — but after Swift stood up to support Styles as he accepted his Album of the Year Grammy Award last month, it’s not so farfetched that the two could reconvene for a moment on stage. Just freaking picture it: Taylor is finishing her 1989 electro-banger “Out of the Woods,” a track purportedly about Styles, and Harry ambles out to duet on the final verse. Then they do “As It Was” together and 60,000 lives are changed forever. Maybe they pull this off at one of the MetLife Stadium shows — her defacto New York City gigs, where Styles seems to perform more than Billy Joel.