Taylor Swift Brings Eras Tour to London: Review

When Taylor Swift released her soft and folky album of 2020’s lockdown albums – folklore And forever – It was reasonable to think that she was slowly emerging from her peak pop star phase and settling into her 30s with less of a longing for the spotlight.

Instead, in the four years since the albums’ release, she’s released six more, including four as part of an ongoing re-recording series, and has become a more ubiquitous cultural force than ever before.

With the most dedicated and die-hard fanbase on the planet behind her, Swift’s mantra lately has been that more is better, and that has served her for better and for worse. On the downside, it is inflated by 11^y studio album, Section of tortured poetsto 31 unnecessary songs, but it also led her to the Tour for the Ages, one of the biggest cultural moments of the decade so far.

Very few artists can put on a show of this size and with this scope — 10 of her 11 albums were given their own section at this show at Wembley Stadium with custom stage sets, costumes and moods — but Swift has the dedication and adoration of a legion of fans (plus money). To delve into its own traditions and deliver a mesmerizing show that never goes below 100 miles per hour.

to folklore And foreverThe Swift sits atop a milled cabin, while the new Section of tortured poets The section sees her take to full Broadway, revived from her slumber by her backing dancers – dressed as a mime – before the album highlight I Can Do It With a Broken Heart.

If there are concerns that these three albums might not translate to stadium environments, then again it’s her fans who are keeping her company. Even the most sensitive and intimate tracks – foreverMarjorie in particular – they yell at her intensely, with little interruption as a result. Despite a quick tour of theatres folklore And forever Still an attractive prospect, the songs more than hold their own on such a large scale.

In addition to being a marvel of songwriting and creativity, the Eras Tour is also astonishing for Swift’s pure stamina. Although she exits the stage to change costumes between each era, she is rarely out of sight for more than a minute at a time during the three-and-a-half-hour show, before emerging and gliding her way across the massive stage. And the passages again, without letting her voice suffer as a result. A swarm of dancers surround her at all times, perfectly inhabiting her past: making for a remarkable feat of acting as well as live performance.

While the tour crosses all eras of Swift’s career, her more recent albums are given much more airtime. The group embarks on a five-track journey throughout 2019 Lover (The album that was unable to tour due to the pandemic), and ends with 13 songs in 2022 midnight And Section of tortured poets. While all events are received with enthusiasm, they sometimes lead to a slightly uneven pace.

The hit “Cruel Summer” marks the first part of the set, but the emotional climax of the show arrives a little early with 1989The jam packed “Style,” “Blank Space” and “Shake It Off” for over an hour before finally exiting the stage. Although there hasn’t been much of a casual Swift presence at all, there is a slight feeling that they may be diminishing in the last two long eras.