The multiple-Grammy winning singer-songwriter Taylor Swift hit her seventh tour stop this past weekend in Nashville, Tennessee. The singer famously moved to Music City just ahead of her freshman year of high school to pursue her career in music. Swift attended Hendersonville High School for two years before transferring to an online academy more compatible with her budding career. Notably, several of her songs from her albums “Taylor Swift” and “Fearless” were inspired by real-life experiences in Hendersonville.
Naturally, Swift frequently speaks about how she regards the city as her second hometown. On her three-show run in Nashville, the singer made several record-breaking moves to honor the city that sparked her musical journey. Here’s a look at the records the singer has broken on “The Eras Tour” so far.
The Most People In The Nissan Stadium Of All Time
Notably, Swift broke the record for the highest crowd capacity at the Nissan stadium, surpassing any other artists who have performed there and the crowds that frequently flock in to watch the Tennessee Titans play. The record first broke on Friday night, and yet again on Saturday. The crowd was composed of over 70,000 concertgoers, with the Nashville Airport additionally reporting that approximately 180,000 people came to town for the weekend of shows.
The Swifties showed up and showed out tonight! ????
Nissan Stadium broke an all-time concert attendance record with 70,000 fans for Night 1 of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour! pic.twitter.com/YeMz0tSwM6
— Nissan Stadium (@NissanStadium) May 6, 2023
The Longest Applause
Each city Swift stops in attempts to break the record of the last for the longest applause after she sings her “Evermore” track “Champagne Problems.” The track is accompanied by Swift playing a moss-covered piano as fans scream along to the iconic lyric of “she would’ve made such a lovely bride, what a shame she’s f*cked in the head.” The current record holder is Atlanta, Georgia at this time. Swift played the Mercedes Benz stadium in the city.
@tayythomas11 Over 3 minutes ???????????????? atl night 3 #champagneproblems #erastour #taylorswift #theerastour #theerastourtaylorswift #tserastour #atlantageorgia #atl #mercedesbenzstadium
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“The Eras Tour” Run Time
Each show on “The Eras Tour” runs just over three hours. This is the longest show out of all of Swift’s prior tours. The show is divided up into different theatrical acts, with costumes, sets, and dancers to provide a conceptual backdrop to each of the singer’s 10 studio albums. Swift is being widely praised for persevering through heavy rains at her final Nashville show, ending her concert past 1 a.m. C.T.
Taylor Swift refused to cancel her final Nashville show and performed in the pouring rain after a four-hour lightning delay. pic.twitter.com/gqSaM5U7cv
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) May 8, 2023
The show’s wardrobe and sets have largely been praised, along with Swift’s “surprise song” section of the show. Each night on tour, Swift surprises the audience with two songs from her extensive discography, occasionally featuring a guest performer. Thus far, Swift has brought out her frequent production collaborator Aaron Dessner of The National twice, as well as Marcus Mumford (formerly of Mumford and Sons) and Phoebe Bridgers, who joined the tour as an opening act in Nashville.
Ten Albums On The Billboard Charts
Since embarking on the creatively ambitious tour, Swift now has several of her albums trending up the Billboard charts simultaneously. All 10 fall within the top 100, with nine in the top 50, eight in the top 40, and three in the top 10. The tour is reintroducing listeners to deep cuts from Swift’s earlier work. The record chart patterns make Swift the first living female artist to achieve such a feat, the only act to have at least eight albums simultaneously in the top 40, the only act with at least nine albums simultaneously in the top 50, and the only living artist with at least 10 albums simultaneously in the top 100, as reported by Billboard.
@thethriftyswiftie @taylorswift congratulations!!!!! #taylorswift#swifttok#taylornation#swiftietiktok#swifttoker#swifttoks#swiftliketaylor#taylorswiftlover #taylorontour#theerastour#erastour#tstheerastour#taylorswifterastour#taylorswifttour#taylorswiftontour#theerastourtaylorswift#taylorontour #billboardhot100 #billboardhot200 #billboardtop10
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The Ticketmaster Debacle
Notoriously leading up to the tour, Swift’s ticket sales sparked a national inquiry into Ticketmaster’s business practices. A senate hearing with the ticketing conglomerate had some alleging that the company violated anti-trust laws. Senators infamously quoted Swift’s lyrics while questioning the exorbitant processing fees put on tickets. The debacle started when thousands of fans with “The Eras Tour” presale codes failed to get tickets in the presale. Tickets then sold out during the presale, preventing a general admission sale from taking place.
https://www.tiktok.com/@popfaction/video/7192284415924456746?_r=1&_t=8cA3MgiJfZb&social_sharing=v4
The City Dedications
Several of the cities that Swift has stopped in have paid homage to the singer in unique ways. Glendale, Arizona changed the city’s name to “Swift City” during her stay, and Tampa, Florida made Swift mayor for the day. In Nashville, Tennessee, the mayor dubbed the weekend “Swift’s Homecoming”. A bench was also dedicated to her in the city’s Centennial Park. Swift references reading in the park on her “Folklore” track “Invisible String.”
#Nashville installs bench in #CentennialPark to honor #TaylorSwift and her Eras tour, with lyrics from #invisiblestring, the 11th track from her 8th studio album, #Folklore:
“For Taylor Swift, a bench for you to read on at Centennial Park. Welcome home, Nashville!” ???????????????? pic.twitter.com/caJeargy8n— World Music Awards (@WORLDMUSICAWARD) May 5, 2023
The Deeply Personal Performances
Many of Swift’s surprise song performances have been timed out for personal reasons. Swift recently added “Red” track “Nothing New” to the setlist when her duet partner on the track, Phoebe Bridgers, joined the tour as an opener. Upon introducing the track, Bridgers explained that she was 18 years old when Swift was 22 upon “Red”‘s release. The track references the life lessons learned as a female musician between the ages of 18 and 22.
Also in Nashville, Swift sang her “Fearless” track “Fifteen” with its inspiration sitting in the audience. The track tells the story of her high school best friend Abigail’s first experience with love and loss. Swift even changed a lyric in the song to “we both cried, but it’s alright” in homage to the pair remaining friends more than 15 years after the track was written.
Taylor changed the bridge of the 2nd surprise song, Fifteen, where Abigail was in the crowd tonight for Nashville night 2! “We both cried, but THAT’S ALRIGHT!” ???? #TSTheErasTour via @angelicakyria13 pic.twitter.com/SEYgPHtNof
— Taylor Swift Updates (@SwiftNYC) May 7, 2023
The singer also notably announced that she would be releasing the re-recorded version of “Speak Now” on July 7. The album marks the third re-recorded album of Swift’s. She began the process in response to music tycoon Scooter Braun purchasing all of her original masters without her consent. Braun famously did so in Nashville, the very city that Swift announced she was continuing to take back her words.
Additionally, Swift’s next tour stop is in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at Lincoln Financial field. Fans suspect the surprise song will be the rare “Ronan”, which Swift co-wrote with the mother of the child cancer patient the track is about. The show will take place on what would have been Ronan’s sixteenth birthday.
See you in 4 days, Philadelphia????????????#ronansdayoflove pic.twitter.com/nc2yFwIbka
— Mama Maya (@rockstarronan) May 8, 2023
Throughout the ups and downs of the tour thus far, one thing rings true–Swift has an era for everyone.
