From new outfits to new surprise songs, Billboard rounds up the eight best moments from the first of three sold-out nights at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.
Florence Welch of Florence + The Machine and Taylor Swift perform onstage during “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour” at Wembley Stadium on Aug. 20, 2024 in London, England.
TAS2024/Getty Images
“Oh my god, we’re from the same music video! Can we trade bracelets?”
It’s the first thing I hear walking into Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium for the first of three sold-out nights of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. There’s a lot going on, so it takes a moment for me to realize this excited fan’s question was directed to me. When we lock eyes, the stranger tilts their white frosted cowboy hat with a red equals sign down towards me — and as a seasoned Swiftie, I immediately get the reference.
I’m wearing a red dress, red lace gloves and a red flower crown — an homage to a look in Swift’s “I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor’s Version)” music video, which features a cake that looks a lot like my new friends’ hat. We exchange beaded bracelets while walking before parting ways. “Have fun tonight,” I shout as we scurry in different directions.
Our little exchange was such a wonderful reminder of one of the reasons why The Eras Tour has been so missed through Swift’s short two-month hiatus following a months-long stint in Europe. I smile knowing interactions like ours probably happened throughout the stadium that night. This is my sixth Eras show, but it genuinely never gets old seeing people of all ages and from all different backgrounds come together to sing, dress up, trade bracelets, dance, and celebrate their one shared love of none other than Miss Taylor Alison Swift.
Swift herself said it best shortly after hitting the Hard Rock Stadium stage: “Oh Miami, we are so back.”
Before wrapping up the historic, record-shattering tour in December, Billboard has rounded up the best moments from the first show of the final leg. Check them out below.
“I Can Now Officially Declare This Show a Rain Show”
It was cloudy and windy all day on Friday in Miami, but the first rain droplets touched ground during a very fitting line at the start of the Fearless era: “There’s somethin’ bout the way/ The street looks when it’s just rained,” Swift sings.
A few songs later, during the Red era, Swift herself exclaimed: “I can now officially declare this show a rain show! We don’t mind the rain at all up here.”
Rain shows have been highly coveted events since the singer started playing outdoor stadiums — whether it be a “full on deluge,” as Swift described her Gillette Stadium show in May, or a misty drizzle. Friday night in Miami, it was more so the latter.
Four New Outfits, Including “Reputation”
With only 17 shows left of the tour, Swift debuted four new outfits during her first night of the Miami Eras tour.
For the Fearless era, the pop superstar donned a sparkly silver fringe mini dress with a blue pattern on the front that appeared to be in the shape of a butterfly.
The new Reputation era outfit is probably what left people the most shocked, with Swift debuting a gold and silver version of her iconic red bodysuit, featuring a slightly different snake head. Until today, Reputation has been the only era of the tour that only outfit option.
Swift changed into a flowy pink and blue high-low dress for her surprise song set — marking the first surprise song dress she’s worn that is two completely different colors. Perhaps an easter egg to performing mash-ups as of late?
Finally, Swift’s Midnights era sparkly lavender shift dress had some slight changes — with less sequins and more custom embroidery.
Surprise Song Mashups From Four Different Albums
Swift delivered quite the variety of surprise songs upon her return to the Eras Tour stage.
The two-song acoustic section is always a fan favorite at these shows because they change every night — and could feature any song not on already on the setlist from her 270-plus song catalog.
Wearing a flowy pink and blue dress, Swift tee’d up the set: “My goal with the acoustic set is to choose songs you might want to hear. And the only way I know I’ve done a good job is based on how loudly you sing.” And boy, did the crowd get loud — as soon as she started singing “Tim McGraw,” her first-ever Billboard Hot 100 chart hit from 2006, but even more so when she mashed it up with Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) From the Vault track, “Timeless.”
She then made her way over to the piano, where she sang a mash-up of folklore track “This Is Me Trying” and the closing track of Lover, “Daylight.”
“A Crowd of Dreams”
Only a couple songs into the show, it’s clear that Swift is grateful for how the Miami crowd of 61,000 welcomed her back from her hiatus — essentially calling the city among the “wildest, most passionate, craziest, most loving crowds in the world.”
That was undoubtedly confirmed after Swift sang “Champagne Problems” during the joint Folklore/Evermore era — she received a standing ovation that lasted over two-and-a-half minutes, and left ears ringing.
“The volume at which you are singing every single one of these songs is astonishing,” she also told the crowd.
“Florida!!!” in Florida
F— me up, Florida. After opening her The Tortured Poets Department era with “But Daddy I Love Him” and “So High School,” Swift surprised the crowd with Florence Welch, who joined the stage for a stunning rendition of their song “Florida!!!”
The Florence & the Machine lead singer entered the stage from the middle diamond in a cream and black lacy number, which looked great alongside Swift’s high-low corset dress.
It isn’t the first time the two sang their TTPD duet live on stage together — the first was the final night at London’s Wembley Stadium on Aug. 20.
A New “22” Hat Recipient
One of the most adorable moments in the show is during the Red era, when Swift struts down the catwalk singing “22” towards a Swiftie waiting to be serenaded and gifted a very special prop.
At night one in Miami, a young girl, who appeared to be 9 or 10, grinned wide from the bottom of the catwalk, and covered her mouth excitedly as Swift approached her for a hug. The girl then gifts Swift a friendship bracelet, and in exchange, Swift plops the black hat she’s been wearing throughout the era on the young girl’s head. “I love you so much,” the girl appears to mouth to Swift, before Swift continues back with the show.
No matter the recipient, it’s always such a sweet moment — giving a deserving fan a memory they will truly never forget.
How “Folkmore” Happened
Before going into “Betty,” Swift talked to the crowd about how her 2020 albums Folklore, which won a Grammy, and Evermore came to life.
“This album had a lot to do with escapism and fantasy,” Swift spoke to the crowd at the top of her Folklore and Evermore set, reflecting on writing the songs from both albums at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We were all trying to figure out how to escape from the reality we were living in and also try and figure out ways to connect other people.”
Honorable Mention: Gracie Abrams’ 9-Song Setlist
Gracie Abrams is no stranger to the Eras Tour, opening the show several times during its first run of shows in the U.S. last year. Now, she returns to the opening slot for the Eras tour’s final leg — and following her own successful Secret of Us tour in the U.S., she sounds better than ever in a stadium setting.
She performed nine songs before Swift took the stage a couple minutes after 8 p.m., including “That’s So True” from her just-released The Secret of Us (Deluxe) and her Taylor Swift collab, “us.”
Here’s the full setlist:
“Risk”
“Blowing Smoke”
“I Love You, I’m Sorry”
“Where do we go now?”
“That’s So True”
“Tough Love”
“Free Now”
“us.”
“Close To You”