The Taylor Swift Eras Tour doc is out and this is what we think of it
Friday, December 12, 09:00. With my phone in one hand and my toothbrush in the other, I’m ready (or well, standing): Taylor Swift’s The End of an Era-documentary. In this six-part documentary series, we follow Taylor through the entire process of the Eras Tour. How did she come up with the idea? How was the rehearsal process? What setbacks did they have to face (spoiler: a terrorist attack)? What did a show look like and how hard did she and her team have to work to create the biggest tour ever? Because yes: Swiftie or not, no one can deny that this is the most successful tour ever. In terms of revenue, attendees, and length. Now I might be a bit biased, because I cried three times in the first twenty minutes, but anyway… Don’t feel like watching those two episodes or just curious about what we think? Then you should stick around. It has been a long time coming.
It felt just like the Eras Tour
You either love her or you hate her: Taylor Swift. Yes, that pop artist. But this songwriter is much more than a girl who sings about her exes. She writes about feminism, the patriarchy, relatable situations, difficult things in the music industry – name it and she has a song about it. The Eras Tour was her passion project. A tour that featured all her ‘eras’. The tour attracted more than 10.1 million visitors. And I’m only talking about the 149 three-hour shows where people actually went inside. Almost all shows had various fans circulating around the stadiums. They were outside dancing and singing. Like in Munich:
@waiting4weekend one of the best parts about the concert in munich #taylorswift #munich #munichN1 #erastour
And I have to honestly say… It felt like I was back at the Eras Tour. I’m sitting in front of my television and it feels like I’ve been transported back to July 4, 2024. I saw Taylor talking, various fans. I just felt the excitement when Taylor first came on stage. Not like in real life, but yes: this episode felt just like a real concert experience. You can feel that love through the screen, even when terrible things happen. Like the near terrorist attack at the concert in Vienna and the attack in Southport. Here, a terrorist stabbed small children during a Taylor Swift dance lesson. Just before the next show, a few days later, we see how Taylor struggles to get back on stage. She meets (in private) the parents of the Southport victims and deals with her emotions. Because yes: the show must go on.
The Eras Tour is clearly more than ‘a concert’
I just touched on this point, but if there is a theme that is central in the first episode, it is what this tour meant for Taylor and her fans. The Eras Tour is a ‘celebration of girlhood’. That may sound a bit airy-fairy, for anyone who isn’t a hardcore Taylor Swift fan like me, but this is how we fans feel. Taylor Swift is for the girls who always get weird reactions for listening to pop music. Taylor Swift is for the overthinkers, for daring to show your emotions and being able to laugh about it together. I understand how this still sounds ‘crazy’, but just keep listening.
The tour is a safe space for all Taylor fans. First of all, all her music is played, so whether you’ve been a fan since 2008 or just last year: there’s always something you know. This was a place where women could dance, jump, scream without anyone putting them down. No one making that comment about Taylor ‘just being a billionaire who sings love songs’. New friendships were formed here. Strangers hugging each other and dancing together while singing along to the lyrics. Strangers exchanging ‘friendship bracelets’ and getting to know each other. Thousands of fans gathered outside the arenas to still enjoy a bit. You don’t have to be different here. You can just be girly and want to wear cute outfits. The reason why Taylor is so popular is that she sings about things everyone has experienced. It brings back memories when you couldn’t wait to wear that one prom dress and then your date suddenly didn’t show up. Or that time a friend stabbed you in the back, or that one ex who traumatized you a bit. Everyone connects with her songs and you can see that beautifully reflected in this documentary.
@francescabilocca the culture and community of girlhood that taylor swift has built for girls and women around the globe is so pure and important and worthy of so much more respect #taylorswift #erastour @Taylor Swift
It is a love letter to the industry
We see Taylor as the true leader of her tour. She thinks along about every dance step, every note. A tour of this size must be well thought out, especially when you go through each ‘era’. You start with Miss Americana from the Lover-album, but which album comes next? How do you ensure it flows beautifully? Which parts of songs do you include so you get a hint, but not the complete experience? We see that kind of preparation in the first episode. Like how much effort it took to organize such a large tour. Or the rehearsals with the songs and dancers. We find out how much effort it costs the dancers, lighting people, stage builders, sound people, managers, choreographers, makeup artists, and costume people. This is not a small theater production, but a real business.
In the second episode, we see that Taylor always wants to surprise her fans. We saw this with the acoustic set, for example. Where Taylor sings four songs that are not in the setlist. Because yes: she plays 46 songs AND still there are many that are not included. She often combined two songs at the piano and two while playing guitar. There are no big music productions, lights, or choreography behind this. This was just Taylor singing an acoustic song with all the fans. The surprises continued by unexpectedly adding a completely new Era to the tour. During the performance, she actually wrote an album: The Tortured Poets Department. Seriously, this woman is insane. She trains for three years, sings weekly concerts that last three hours, and then she also has time to write and record an album? Yes, I would have been dead long ago. She naturally wanted to include this new album in the concert, so instead of shortening the concert, new songs, dances, and outfits were added. And they didn’t have months to rehearse for this, but only the period between the Asian and European tour. We see how crazy it is that they do this. It’s truly a love letter to the industry. To what is possible to transport visitors to a new world. How the dancers and all the other staff work together to get this perfect. That is very beautiful to see. The team around the tour is highlighted, not just Taylor. We see their personal stories as choreographers and dancers.
Okay, I’ve probably talked enough now. So if you’re still here – which is really great – I encourage you to watch this documentary. It’s not just about how ‘great Taylor Swift is’. It’s about the art of setting up a music tour and what this does to people. Do you find the music industry interesting, want to learn how this works, and like Taylor Swift? Then you absolutely have to see this (and the four upcoming episodes).
