The Phenomenon of Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour

Taylor Swift stands tall as the reigning pop star of our era. With ten platinum chart-topping albums over a twenty-year career, currently she is on the Eras Tour – a mega-world tour that showcases her ten different eras.

It even caused the Ticketmaster booking website to crash as soon as the tour was announced in November 2022. 

The show includes a 3-hour performance complete with theatrics, dancing, and her majestic, multi-octave voice. Each act showcases songs from a specific album, with an outfit, dance routine and visual effects matching the album's aesthetic.

Last December, Billboard estimated that Swift's tour would generate $590 million from 52 tour dates. However, with the recent addition of concerts in Latin America, Asia, Australia, and Europe extending until 2024, the tour now includes 131 shows.

According to Pollstar, this expansion of her tour is set to earn $1 billion or more in sales.

Have there been any other artists who have achieved a similar level of success? Here are the top 10 concert tours with the highest grossing revenue, according to the most recent data from Billboard Boxscore as of April 20, 2023.

• Elton John — Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour (2018-20, 22-present): $853 million
• Ed Sheeran — The ÷ (Divide) Tour (2017-19): $776 million
• U2 — U2 360° Tour (2009-11): $736 million
• Guns N’ Roses — Not in This Lifetime... Tour (2016-19): $584 million
• The Rolling Stones — A Bigger Bang Tour (2005-07): $558 million
• The Rolling Stones — No Filter Tour (2017-19, 21): $547 million
• Coldplay — A Head Full of Dreams Tour (2016-17): $524 million
• Roger Waters — The Wall Live (2010-13): $459 million
• AC/DC — Black Ice World Tour (2008-10): $442 million
• Harry Styles — Love on Tour (2021-present): $418 million

The show opens with a pastel-coloured set, and Swift performs 2019's Lover album in a pink spangled Versace bodysuit. Next up is Fearless (2008) – country-pop crossovers crooned in a shiny gold Roberto Cavalli frock paired with cowboy boots – a nod to Swift's Tennessee upbringing.

The third act, 2020's Evermore, adopts a mystical feel, and one song, 'Willow', is performed with dancers holding orange lamps to portray a séance, to match Swift's rust-coloured Etro gown.

The act closes with visuals of snakes, a key motif of 2017's reputation.Clad in a black and red Cavalli catsuit, Swift belts through the album's energy-filled electro-pop hits in front of gothic visuals and dancers dressed in outfits reminiscent of previous 'eras'.

Next is the shortest act, Speak Now, with just one song – 'Enchanted' – and Swift is draped in a tulle ballgown studded with sequins, accompanied by a live orchestra.

The second half begins with the Red era, with apt crimson visuals. As a tribute, Swift dons the 'Not A Lot Going On At The Moment' t-shirt from the '22' music video. However, a lot is going on at that moment – balloons, artificial snow, and an acoustic version of the 10-minute rereleased hit 'All Too Well' in a red overcoat.

Soon, 2020’s folklore, with its pensive lyrics and cinematic storylines takes over, with Swift in a ruffled chiffon Alberta Ferrini gown. The set features a log cabin, on whose roof she performs ‘invisible string’, followed by ‘my tears ricochet’ backed by dancers in vintage costumes performing a funeral parade.

After performing ‘Cardigan’, the log cabin and its balladry retreats in a flicker of fireflies, replaced by visuals of a neon cityscape. Taylor Swift revives 2014’s 1989 era of glittering pop, belting out hits in an equally glittery top and skirt by Roberto Cavalli. The ‘eras’ go on pause for two ‘surprise songs’ that change with every show, and are performed stripped down with an acoustic guitar and a piano. Once they have been sung (and sung along to), the stage is enveloped in an optical illusion of water, which Swift ‘swims’ through before the finale.

Midnights, the most recent album, is introduced with a crashing wave of the ‘water’ on stage and opens with Swift waking from a bed and climbing into the clouds.In a lilac faux fur coat that reveals a glimmering ‘midnight’ blue bodysuit, both by Oscar de la Renta, she performs the chart-topping album’s tracks, even performing a burlesque routine for ‘Vigilante Shit’ and a TikTok-inspired dance for ‘Bejeweled’.

The show closes with the carefree hit, ‘Karma’, with fireworks, confetti and the entire dance crew. Taylor Swift makes each show of The Eras Tour a night to remember, making her one of the greatest show-women of our time.

Taylor Swift - The Eras Tour | Hidden Details and Easter Eggs:

Taylor Swift Costumes from The Eras Tour: