Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour at Wembley Stadium review: A show of epic proportions
The American artist's magic touch skilfully enchanted the 88,000 crowd for over three hours
A lot has happened since Taylor Swift’s last stadium tour came into London town back in 2018. The American artist has released nine albums since then (including four Taylor’s Versions: re-recordings of her earlier works.) It is almost inconceivable to think how the record-breaking singer would fit this all into one concert, but this is Taylor Swift, after all.
Taylor opted for a non-linear telling of her 18-year discography, expertly guiding the 88,000 Wembley stadium crowd through each of her eras, trimming and clipping several tracks to ensure there was a clever flow of energy to the three-and-a-half our set. This made room for her newer albums, such as The Tortured Poets Society, to breathe fully whilst still giving Swifties what they craved from her back catalogue.
The Eras Tour set started with the billowy dreamy pastels of Lover, with ‘Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Price’ and ‘Cruel Summer’ and its iconic bridge before taking us right the way through her body of work, ending with the shimmering crescendo of her album Midnights. A three-hour-plus set list is ambitious, but Taylor managed to keep her audience fully engaged the entire time. Her talent as a performer, both physically, musically and vocally showed as she never dipped from 100% energy levels the whole time and kept her vocals strong right until the glittering final song ‘Karma’.
Taylor is an expert storyteller through her songwriting, and in turn, is a masterful world builder, creating characters and narratives through her music, packed full of easter eggs and lore for her fans. This translated to the detailed-orientated production of the show. Set-wise, each era was fully bespoke and true to the album concept, giving a truly 3D immersive experience, transporting Swifties out of the international sports stadium, and right into the heart of Taylor’s world. For sister albums Folklore and Evermore, she led everyone through a campfire sing-along from a mossy-roofed cabin in the fairytale, glow-worm-lit forest, before pumping up the adrenaline with a towering, flame-throwing set of Reputation, which still translates exceptionally well from the recording studio to stadium tour, with its darker, bassier and rockier-toned sound.
As well as the electric energy that charged and flowed from the stage to the crowds during her beloved 1989 (Taylor’s Version) and Red (TV) sections, Taylor had the skill and the magnetic pull to draw the whole crowd in acoustically, with just her vocals paired with a guitar or (moss-covered) grand piano. As expected, Taylor’s magnum opus, ‘All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version)’ had the crowd chanting the entire song back at her verbatim, which is always a goosebump-producing event. But it was songs never performed until this tour that showcased the star’s enduring talent for connecting with her fans through her songs.
The run of the crushingly beautiful ‘Cardigan’ through to Evermore’s ‘Champagne Problems’ drew a captivated hush in the crowd, before the whole stadium erupted, singing along to the chorus, leading to the entire place chanting Taylor’s name, clapping and foot stomping. The roaring ovation rumbled the stadium for three-and-a-half-minutes, where Taylor stopped and looked around, absorbing the moment. Once again, the moments of quiet magic led to a surprise acoustic set section, where Taylor opted for a mash up of ‘Hits Different’ and ‘Death by a Thousand Cuts’, then went into ‘Black Dog’, infused with ‘Come Back…Be Here’ and ‘Maroon’. It felt like ‘Death by a Thousand Cuts’ could gain a promotion to a main song on the setlist, if Taylor makes anymore tweaks for future shows, due to the overwhelming singalong that emanated from the stadium.
Every great writer knows the concept of prophetic fallacy, and Taylor, who was on an absolute roll at this point, as she performed her final section of the night, surely must have noticed that, after a completely sunny London evening, that the rain started to come down, as if right on queue, during ‘Midnight Rain.’ Taylor could not have planned it any better, but at this point of the evening, and the masterclass of the show that she had put on, I would not have put her orchestrating the weather past her either.
In terms of concerts, Taylor is part of a very exclusive upper echelon of artists who can pull off such an incredible and immersive concert experience. You can probably count them all on one hand, and The Eras Tour proves that Taylor has that exceptionally rare magic touch to create a show of truly breathtaking brilliance.
