Baby, let the game begin.
Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” kicked off Friday night in Glendale, Arizona on a three-hour show featuring hits from all time during the Grammy winner’s 17-year career.
“Swifties,” as her fans are known, descended on the city in full Swift-inspired attire, and the venue itself changed its name to “Swift City,” according to Glendale’s website, Arizona. Ticket sales for the tour even broke Ticketmaster, which the singer drew attention on Friday when she told her audience she felt safe assuming they had it takes “a substantial effort” to be there.
Full disclosure: This CNN writer is a Swiftie. I was trying to win tickets to Swift’s penultimate show in Los Angeles this August, but here are some highlights of her performance on Friday, based on social media posts. association of attendees.
Wearing a crystal corset and matching boots, Swift kicked off the concert with her “Lover” era by opening with “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince”, a track from the album. in 2019, then performed “Cruel Summer” for the first time in concert.
While performing “Willow” and “Champagne Problems” on her pandemic-era album “Evermore,” Swift asked her audience, “Is it just me or do we have a lot to catch up on?” It’s a fair question, as this tour is Swift’s first since her “Reputation” show in 2018.
Audiences were transported back to that era, when Swift performed hit hits like “Delicate” and “Don’t Blame Me” on the set where the snake “Reputation” slithered around.
The “Red” era brought even more comebacks with some of Swift’s more catchy tunes like “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” and “I Knew You Were Trouble”. Swift also performed a 10-minute version of “All Too Well”.
Taylor Swift on stage for the opening night of her “Eras Tour” in Arizona on March 17. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)
Next, she performed songs from her 2020 album “Folklore” for the first time in a live concert. Swift stands on a deck decorated like the moss-covered “Folklore” cabin seen in some of her music videos. The moody and imaginative album came to life as she sang “Invisible String”, “Cardigan” and “Betty” among others. She then played an acoustic version of “Mirrorball” after informing the audience that she would be playing a different acoustic song at each performance during the tour.
In true “1989” style, this part of the show seems to be a big dance party, as it includes some of Swift’s most famous hits like “Blake Space”, “Shake it Off” and “Wildest” Dreams”.
There are other nostalgic moments throughout the show, with Swift singing about her “Fearless” days with “You Belong with Me” and “Love Story”. She also sang “Tim McGraw” on piano, a song from her prime in 2006.
As the concert reached its final and current stage, Swift played various songs from her 2022 record-breaking album “Midnights”, including “Anti-Hero”, “Lavender Haze”, “Mastermind”, ” and “Bejeweled” and ended the performance. performed with the high-energy hit “Karma”.
Swift’s playlist includes more than 40 songs, potentially proving to her fans that the grueling wait for their villain Taylor Swift to return to the stage was well worth it.
