Taylor Swift: As Era Tour Ends, What’s She Up To Next?

“I used to think that one day we’d tell our story / How we met and the sparks flew instantly / And people would say, ‘They’re lucky.‘.

This weekend will be a bittersweet farewell for Taylor Swift and her fans.

When she plays the last notes of Karma in Vancouver on Sunday night, the Eras Tour will be over forever.

First announced in November 2022, it’s bigger than even Swift could have dreamed – with 149 shows in 53 cities to 10.1 million fans.

Along the way, it added $2 billion in ticket sales, Stimulating local economies And Triggered earthquake events..

Swift called it “the most exhausting, all-consuming, but also the happiest, most rewarding, most wonderful thing that ever happened” in her life.

Writing in her recently published tour book, Swift said the 45-song, career-spanning setlist was inspired by her decision to re-record her first six albums, which allowed her to revisit her past. “Back in love” from work.

She continued to play concerts in “pouring rain, sweltering heat, dense humidity, wild winds and bitter cold”, she wrote, even when she was “sick or exhausted or injured”. Or working through a “broken heart.”

But the concerts were much more than music. Fans exchanged friendship bracelets and made lifelong friends with strangers. Outside the stadium, ticketless Swifties gathered in car parks to sing along.

At one show in Munich, 40,000 people gathered on a nearby hill to catch a glimpse of the show, nearly outnumbering the number of fans inside the city’s former Olympic stadium.

For many, the opportunity to hear these songs live for the first time was overwhelming.

“I cried a lot more than I expected,” says Chvrches singer Lauren Mayberry, who saw the tour for the first time in Santa Clara last year.

“I cried at the beginning, just because it was interesting. Obviously I cried during it. [epic break-up ballad] All to Well. Then I cried at Archer. Don’t know why.”

Online, the faithful watched live streams of the night and downloaded a free, fan-powered app. Swift Alert — which allowed them to speculate about what Swift might wear, and what amazing songs she might play during her acoustic set for the night. Those at the top of the leaderboard will win prizes.

There is an unparalleled sense of community around the gigs. When I took my daughter to a concert at Wembley Stadium in June, the tall people moved back to give her a better view – something I’ve rarely seen in years of concerts.

For other families, the Eras Tour has brought them closer together.

Michelle, from Seattle, Washington, is attending one of the final concerts in Vancouver with her daughter this weekend, and says the anticipation has helped her stay in touch.

“I got the tickets about 13 months ago, and even though she doesn’t live at home full time, I doubt a week goes by when we don’t have a fun conversation about Taylor, and what she’s looking forward to. talked about. show, and what our weekend plans might include,” she says.

The end of the tour leaves Swift at a crossroads. This Eras Tour will be the yardstick against which the rest of his career will be measured – and his next move will be closely watched by fans and critics alike.

So what options does he have?

“Taylor is a very forward-thinking person, so I imagine she has the next few years completely planned out.” says Brian West, a dedicated Taylor Swift reporter for USA Today and The Tennessean, who has seen the Eras tour 89 times.

Noting Swift’s tendency to develop her own projects, he thinks her final show will make some sort of “news-making” announcement.

Presumably, it will be the reveal of Reputation (Taylor’s Version) – the latest installment in her re-recorded album series, complete with bonus tracks from the vault.

That said, fans have been anticipating this announcement all year and the album has yet to be released, despite that Multiple, satirical Indications It’s on its way.

There are some other theories of the West.

“We’ve seen the film crew in a lot of gigs, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s been shooting a documentary this whole time.

“And in her new book, she said, ‘See you next time,’ so there are reports that she’s working on new music.”

A long-term possibility is that Swift will be the focus of the film. In December 2022, he signed a deal to direct a film for Searchlight Pictures based on his original script.

At the announcement, Searchlight presidents David Greenbaum and Matthew Greenfield called her “a once-in-a-generation artist and storyteller,” but the trail has since gone cold. Maybe she’ll return to the director’s chair in 2025?

West has also tracked several trademarks filed by the star this year, including Taylor-Coon and Female Rage: The Musical “which could be anything from a television show to a documentary series to a Broadway production.” is”.

But maybe we’re expecting too much?

“He needs to take some time off, first of all,” says Jack Saunders, host of Radio 1’s New Music Show, “because it’s completely unrealistic to expect a human being to perform at the same level of performance that he’s been doing in the past. Been doing it for days. Two years and dive right back in.

“We’ve heard a lot from Taylor — so it’s healthy for us and healthy for him to step back and take some time off, so he can fuel himself going forward.”

In fact, Swift has hinted that she’s tired of the music industry.

Clara Bow, a track from her latest album The Tortured Poets Department, is a barbed commentary on the lust of the new blood industry.

Other songs include her daydreaming about wedding rings and “pushing strollers” – so there’s every chance Swift will take a year off to focus on her romance with US football star Travis Kelce.

“She might take a break,” West says, “but she’s not someone who necessarily sits still. She’s always creating. She’s always coming up with new projects.”

If Swift does head back to the studio, the singer-songwriter’s self-esteem hopes to use the cultural (and financial) capital she’s built over the past two years to do something unexpected.

“If I were her, I would have immersed myself in making music in all the different genres and styles that I couldn’t explore because of branding and expectations,” she says.

“And it sounds really worthwhile, but I can’t wait until I have enough money to fund working-class people who can’t access music – so if I do that If I had, I would have done it.”

(It’s worth noting that Swift has a history of charitable giving, including Donate to local food banks But Every stop Era Tour).

Either way, a left-handed spin makes sense. In her Eras tour book, the star says she “hates to do the same thing twice”.

But this weekend, Michelle wants to savor the last moments of just one trend.

“We love concerts in my family. I love being in a whole crowd of people passionate about the same thing,” she says, “but it feels different.

“I love how this tour has brought people from all over the world together.

“It will certainly be interesting to see what his next move is,” she adds, “but I can’t bring myself to speculate.

“I’ll just wait and see — because, whatever she does next, Taylor and her team should be very proud of the joy that was brought to so many people during the ERA Tour run.”