“Croeso i’r daith Eras!” Welcome to the Eras Tour. Just when you think nothing could make 67,000 Taylor Swift fans more ravenous for the capital’s gig, the icon herself welcomes them in Welsh.
After months of anticipation, it was a full house for the one-night stint of the Eras Tour in Cardiff – a gig that pays homage to 18 years of music. Some fans spent camped outside Principality Stadium from the early hours hoping to get a front-row seat, while others flew from America and beyond to catch a glimpse of the Midnights singer.
And it seemed none were disappointed by the 44-song, three hour long performance that left Ms Swift herself thanking fans for their energy, excitement and generosity.
The show kicked off with Swift, donning a sparkling bodysuit, rising on a pedestal from beneath the stage and launching straight into hit-song Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince. Fans of all ages erupted into a deafening cheer for the country singer turned pop star – so piercing you almost had to cover your ears.
Miss Americana was one of five songs to make up the 2019 Lover era – including Cruel Summer, The Man, You Need to Calm Down and the album’s namesake – and this tour marks the first time the album has been performed live after it was released at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“You and I are about to go on a grand adventure together and it’s going to span 18 years of music,” the 34-year-old told the crowd.
All around the stadium, teens, mums and their children, university students, 30-somethings and even Swiftie dads threw their hands into the air and screamed until the singer launched into the Fearless era, playing fan classics like You Belong With Me and Love Story. As the lights flashed around the stadium, the crowd swayed in its bedazzled body suits, cowboy hats, and even variations of Swift’s black and red snake-adorned one piece from her Reputation album.
Swift wowed audiences with an outfit change for each era, sporting her iconic glittering ball gown for Fearless, a black and gold pin-stripe suit dress for The Man, numerous sequin bodysuits and a new-to-the-wardrobe white dress painted with black lyrics for The Tortured Poets Department.
After blitzing through three songs as part of her Fearless era, she looked back at Red, including her now iconic 10-minute version of All To Well, before slowing things down for a raft of songs from her Folklore and Evermore albums.
The epic backdrop to this section was a moss covered cabin, an image Swift says she dreamt up while writing the album during lockdown. It was an “escape mechanism”, she said, likening it to “somewhere in the Welsh countryside”.
For the first time in nearly two hours, Swift was able to sit still. And as she belted out lyrics from the top of the cabin, it was hard not to wonder how she has done this for more than a year and a half straight. She has played through sweltering heat in South America, six degree cold in Scotland, and everything in between. Yet, despite that, she performs with such raw energy and excitement, it’s hard to believe this isn’t the very first time.
Lucky for Cardiff fans, there was one element of this show which was new: The Tortured Poets Department. Released on April 19, it’s only been part of the set list since Swift played Paris on May 9. Swift poured her heart into the album’s hits including But Daddy I love Him, Who’s Afraid Of Little Old Me and Fortnight.
Signalling a move toward the end of the night, Swift also treated the crowd to two special song mashups. On acoustic guitar, she played I Forgot That You Existed mixed with This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things. On piano, she performed a rendition of I Hate It Here – a new song from the Tortured Poets Department – and The Lakes from Folklore, telling fans “This is a song I’ve never played live before. Wish me luck!”
As the gig pushed past the three-hour mark, Swift marked the last era of the night with Midnights, belting out crowd pleasers Lavender Haze, Anti-Hero and Karma.
During a break in between songs, Swift told her fans: “This crowd in Cardiff is one for the books, this is different. I love you so much.”
Then just before the end of her show, Swift ended with a sweet “Diolch o galon”, meaning “thank you very much”.
Swift’s Cardiff visit is the only stop on her entire European tour to take place over just one night, with most cities spanning two or three dates. For fans who didn’t manage to get tickets, this has been a real sore spot. But for the lucky thousands that did, they might have just witnessed one of the greatest performances to ever grace the stage at Principality Stadium.
