Fifty-two stadiums, 10 albums, 44 tracks over three hours long: Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, which kicked off March 17 on the State Farm Arena in Glendale, Arizona, is an epic production.
Constant costume changes, large-scale set swaps and stunts on the outrageous agenda of a Las Vegas mansion.
“It’s almost like a special Broadway musical for every song,” Dave Brooks, Billboard’s senior director of live music and touring, told The Post.
“The production quality is way ahead of anything that has come before [done] … They construct these very elaborate kits that they use for a number of songs, not for the entire show.”
The worth can be astronomical.
“The fee needs to be way north of $100 million…probably loads more,” Brooks said. “This can be one of the vital expensive routes ever, but additionally one of the vital financially profitable. So mainly it pays off.”
![Taylor Swift performing on the first night of her tour in Glendale, Arizona.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000008431744-edited.jpg)
And that seems to have put an end to all of the drama of Ticketmaster’s failure “Anti-hero” singer together with her legion of Swifties.
Erica Gabriel, an event producer who traveled from Salt Lake City to Glendale on March 18 to see the second show of the tour, told The Post the experience was “unbelievable”.
“It literally exceeded every expectation I had set for myself – about 10 times – and I already had high expectations.”
Here’s a glimpse into the brand new level of Swift’s performance.
Scene setting
![The giant catwalk stretches almost the entire length of the stadium, so much the better for Swift when the catwalk is working with a dozen-man army of dancers.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000008480782.jpg?w=1024)
![Taylor Swift on stage during her new tour.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000008481775-edited.jpg)
The enormous catwalk stretches almost the whole length of the stadium, a lot the higher for Swift when the catwalk is working with a dozen-man army of dancers.
The means of constructing this stage – and all the remaining of the set – begins in place a number of weeks before the princess of pop begins to open “Lover”, “Miss Americana and the Prince of Broken Hearts”.
For a stadium tour of this size, Brooks said, “They’ve advanced teams that may prepare and construct.”
Closer to the date, a team of around 90 trucks are moving in to construct a sprawling stage where Swift will sing career-spanning hits from her 2006 debut album to her latest LP, 2022’s Midnights.
“So far as I do know, it takes two to a few weeks,” Brooks said.
A big solid piece
![Taylor Swift in the cabin on the Eras Tour.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000008432726-edited.jpg)
![Taylor Swift performing with dancers in black behind her.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000008429627.jpg?w=1024)
One structure – the moss-covered hut on top of which Swift sings within the “Folklore” section – seems particularly difficult to construct and break down from city to city.
“It’s almost such as you’d think they’d must have two,” Brooks said, “so that they can construct one while the opposite [being used]”.
A brave feat
![Taylor Swift flip-flops onstage during her Eras tour.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000008564233-1-edited.jpg)
![Looks like Taylor Swift is sailing on her Eras Tour.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000008688805.jpg?w=1024)
Swift takes stage diving to an entire latest level.
As a substitute of throwing herself into the group, the 33-year-old superstar falls headfirst right into a trapdoor on stage after singing her breakthrough hit “Tim McGraw.” Then she seems to drift through the stadium on a water-filled runway before emerging to the surface – dry and fresh in her latest costume – to perform “Lavender Mist”.
The feat likely involves landing on a mat after which using the identical “rocket sled” device she used to leap across the stadium hidden from view during her 2018 “Repute” tour. Brooks attributes the oceanic illusion to exactly timed, pre-shot visuals that “are almost like a second performer together with her up there.”
A lot of costumes
![Taylor Swift sings 44 songs over three hours on her Eras tour.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000008733484.jpg?w=1024)
![Taylor Swift](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000008733485.jpg?w=1024)
Swift wore over a dozen different looks on the premiere, including a gold Roberto Cavalli flapper dress, a lavender gown by Alberta Ferretti and a surprising bodysuit from Atelier Versace and Oscar de la Renta.
Quick changes are key.
“All of the costumes are often modified in such a way that it’s very easy to get out and in,” Dan George, a former tour manager who worked for Shakira and Britney Spears, told The Post. “A dress that typically has buttons, perhaps they add a zipper as an alternative. Or the performer might have a battery case within the costume. You realize, little adjustments that make things easier.
Marathon playlist
![Taylor Swift on the Eras tour.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000008481788-edited-1.jpg)
![Taylor Swift on the Eras tour.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000008532388.jpg?w=1024)
And at the tip of the day, Swift – who’s going to do it take her from Eras Tour to MetLife Stadium May 26 to May 28 – That is the final word special, regardless of how massive the production.
“Her durability is the subsequent level for me,” said Brooks. “The indisputable fact that she’s going to be doing these marathons, three-plus hour shows – it have to be exhausting.”
Nonetheless, George notes that her singing style just isn’t as strenuous as some divas.
“Taylor is more of a stylistic singer. She has a really nice voice, but she just isn’t a robust singer. So when she sings live, she doesn’t scream at the highest of her lungs,” he said. “So it isn’t an excellent vocal challenge for her.”
Still, the performance is a tremendous feat.
Brooks said, “You may innovate on stage, a part of the tour. But you’ll be able to’t really innovate an excessive amount of with the human body – and an individual’s ability to deliver.”
![Taylor Swift on the Eras tour.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000008460111.jpg?w=1024)
![Taylor Swift and dancers during her Eras tour.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000008430072-edited.jpg)