Over and over, Taylor has expressed her gratitude for her fans and her joy at being able to make music and reach people. She gives back to communities and is generous with her time and spirit – sending autographed albums to indie shops, donating to charities, and connecting with her fans. She is possibly the most powerful musician in the world; she can influence whole industries, economies, and cityscapes. And with all that on her shoulders, she still manages to be the consummate professional and repay her fan's adoration tenfold. Swift turns 35 this year and already has over twenty years of recording history. Like similar musicians with long careers (Bowie, Madonna, Prince), she consistently stretches and reinvents herself.

Indy is hosting the last three American nights of The Eras Tour. Night one saw the highest-ever concert attendance at Lucas Oil Stadium (69,000). Hotels are sold out; a giant Taylor Swift adorns the JW Marriott hotel and towers over downtown. Street names are changed to Taylor song titles, every restaurant or bar has themed cocktails or mocktails. The streets are crowded with fans, dressed in sparkly clothes and cowboy hats, and everyone in their Taylor Swift-themed outfits. Walking to lunch, a fire engine blasted “Blank Space” while a mom danced with her young daughter on the corner. Lines for the merch at the convention center were healthy all day. All that was just a prelude to the actual event. As we entered the stadium, the good-natured event staff and guards traded friendship bracelets with folks and helped them get situated. Nice start to a great night.

On this leg of the tour, Gracie Abrams is opening. Taylor has said that Abrams is one of her favorite singers and within thirty seconds, it’s obvious why. Armed with an acoustic guitar, her huge voice filled the stadium as she delivered a confident, charming set to an enthusiastic house. She’s a relatively new artist, but thousands of fans sang along with her songs as her voice and radiant smile filled the arena. She danced across the stage in a lovely pastel blue dress, waving to fans, picking up friendship bracelets, and charming everyone.

After an intermission, a projected clock ticked down from two minutes to midnight as “You Don’t Own Me” by Lesley Gore played. With an election coming up next week, it’s hard not to read more into it (The Doomsday Clock and “And don’t tell me what to do/Oh, don’t tell me what to say”). Taylor’s made it clear where she stands.

The shrieks turned to roars as the clock hit zero and Taylor emerged a few beats later, diaphanous clouds of peach cloth swirling around he in a sparkly gold and silver bodysuit. The energy amped her up and she joked she felt strong, strong enough to be a man as she went into “The Man.” I love the lyric, “And I’m so sick of them coming at me again/’Cause if I was a man/ I’d be THE MAN.”

“We are Never Ever Getting Back Together” rocked the stadium and fans roared at Kameron Saunders iconic interjection. When Taylor sang, “It’s exhausting we are never getting back together” instead of “Like ever” he cracked, “No, yeah, no.”
 
 The stage had an extended runway and there were so many delightful bits of stagecraft -articulated sections raised and lowered dynamically, floor lighting, video screens, pyrotechnics, lasers, and confetti. Choreography ran the gamut from the catwalk vamp to Bob Fosse to vaudeville. It felt like seeing multiple mini-Broadway shows.

For all that flash (and it was thrilling), the most gripping moments were when Taylor was alone on stage. The 10-minute version of “All Too Well,” with Taylor playing her acoustic guitar and singing vulnerably, was epic. I felt goosebumps erupt on my arms as she wove through the song, taking back every shred of power anyone ever tried to take from her.

The snake-venom bite of the reputation songs (one of my favorite Eras) hit hard, but the folky charm of folkore/evermore was maybe even more compelling. Taylor sat with her acoustic guitar, surrounded by a woodsy cabin setting, When we walked in, we were handed LED bracelets. Everyone’s wrists were glowing in coordinated colors like tens of thousands of fireflies. It felt like being around a campfire with Taylor, being privileged enough to hear her sing just for us. It’s profoundly hard to make a huge football stadium feel intimate, but she pulled it off.

Taylor got emotional talking about “Champagne Problems,” telling us how it was written during the pandemic and that she didn’t know if she would ever get to put on concerts again. She played the plaintive song on a moss-covered piano, and when she was done, the crowd screamed for minutes as she looked around in disbelief, clearly moved. She thanked the crowd for giving her and her band a moment they will never forget.

For “Willow,” the woods erupted in orange fire as dancers held glowing orange balls of eldritch fire. The whole feel was druidic and appropriate for a post-Halloween show. As the dancers frolicked through the woods, I kept thinking it felt like something Kate Bush would have done back in the day – a bit pagan and mysterious.

For “Style” and “Shake it Off” (from the 1989 Era), Taylor and her troupe moved all along the stage and catwalk, pumping up the energy and radiating pure joy. “Style” is one of my absolute favorites, I love the 1980s cop guitar vibes. She shortened it for the set, and I’d love to see a full version someday.

I’m glad I caught the end of this tour because it allowed Taylor to include several songs from her latest album, The Tortured Poets Department. The album is remarkable. For “But Daddy, I Love Him,” Taylor dramatically emerged from underneath the stage in her signature Vivienne Westwood Couture white gown. “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” was powerful, I got chills when she delivered the line, “Well, you should be,” as the song ended, and her projected eyes went opaque white.

After TTPD, Taylor moved to the catwalk and did her solo surprise songs. She commented that she loved the opportunity to highlight songs that normally don’t get featured. Night One’s set featured acoustic guitar versions of “The Albatross/Holy Ground” and piano versions of “Cold as You/exile.” Seeing Taylor up close performing these songs without adornment will be etched in my memory. I’d watch three hours of her performing solo. Heck, the whole stadium would. I’ve never seen anyone hold a crowd like she does. After her solo surprise songs, Taylor stood up and suddenly dove onto the stage, disappearing as a video showed her swimming away.

As the show shifted into its last Era (Midnights), there were some equipment glitches because of rain damage from a previous concert. Taylor apologized, saying you never know when those problems will pop up, but it didn’t distract much from the funk of “Lavender Haze” or femme fatale sting of “Vigilante Shit.”

Taylor finished strong with “Mastermind” and “Karma” as confetti rained down on the crowd as everyone applauded and screamed.

All in all, The Eras lasted almost three and a half hours, but it flew by. What an extraordinary experience.

Setlist:
 Lover
 Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince 

 Cruel Summer 

 The Man 

 You Need to Calm Down 

 Lover 


Fearless
 Fearless 

 You Belong with Me 


 Love Story 



Red
 22 


 We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
 I Knew You Were Trouble
 All Too Well 
(10 Minute Version)

Speak Now
 Enchanted 


reputation
 ...Ready for It? 


 Delicate 


 Don't Blame Me 

 Look What You Made Me Do 


folklore / evermore
 cardigan 

 betty 

 champagne problems 

 august 


 illicit affairs 

 my tears ricochet 


 marjorie 

 willow 


1989
 Style 

 Blank Space 


 Shake It Off 


 Wildest Dreams 

 Bad Blood 


THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT
 But Daddy I Love Him / So High School
 Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?
 Down Bad
 Fortnight
 The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived
 I Can Do It with a Broken Heart

Surprise Songs
 The Albatross/Holy Ground (on acoustic guitar)
 Cold as You/exile (on piano)

Midnights
 Lavender Haze
 Anti‐Hero
 Midnight Rain
 Vigilante Shit
 Bejeweled
 Mastermind
 Karma