Taylor Swift brought The Eras Tour to Houston the weekend of April 21-23, 2023 and it was a spectacular show that left everyone speechless. Swift is the first person to ever sell out and perform 3 back to back nights at NRG stadium, and we were lucky enough to attend the Saturday night show.
Once attendees arrived at the venue, there were a multitude of things to do. Some fans were in line waiting for merchandise, others were at the radio station booths taking pictures and winning prizes, and others were trading friendship bracelets early on. Once the doors opened, fans cheered in excitement. Everyone grabbed a light up bracelet provided by Capital One and immediately rushed into the stadium. Once inside, fans grabbed something to eat, traded more bracelets and even took pictures at the Capital One elevator.
The first opener of the night was Gracie Abrams. Abrams opened her show with “Where do we go now?” She then took a moment to thank Taylor for having her out for the tour. Gracie continued her set with songs such as “Block Me Out” and “I Know It Won’t Work”. Even though her set was relatively short, she still made a great impact among the audience, and definitely gained some new fans. The next person to open the show was Beabadoobee. We last saw the singer perform back in November and looked forward to seeing her again. She performed songs from her entire discography, such as “10:36” from Beatopia, to “Apple Cider” from Loveworm, there was something for everyone. She even played some fan favorites such as “The Perfect Pair” and “Glue Song”. Bea also thanked Swift for having her out and ended with “Cologne” – Bea once again provided a great set, it was now time for the main act, Taylor Swift.
Shortly before Taylor took the stage, a giant countdown clock displayed on the screens. Immediately the venue roared in cheers and excitement as fans knew they were about to see one of their favorite artists live in person. Swift came out on stage and opened with “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince” – starting the show with her Lover Era. Fans quickly joined in singing, I’ve never heard a venue as loud as I did that night. She welcomed everyone to the show and told us how she was going to take us on a ride, Era by Era. She performed for over 3 hours playing a set of 44 songs. I was left speechless.
The next Era we were taken to was the Fearless Era, playing some songs such as “Fearless”, and hits like “You Belong With Me” and “Love Story”, this took me and many people back in time, and everyone made sure they sang at the top of their lungs. With every Era, there was a new outfit, and Swift always left us amazed by what she wore. She proceeded the show by singing songs from her Folklore, Reputation and Speak Now Era. While singing “22” in the Red Era of the show, Swift came down to the very front of the stage and gave her signed hat to a young fan, the audience cheered the young fan on and clapped for her. During this specific part of the show, Taylor also sang “All Too Well”, the 10 minute version, and wow, everyone gave it their all during those 10 minutes.
The show proceeded with Eras from Folklore and a personal favorite, 1989, which featured performances to songs such as “Blank Space”, “Shake It Off” and “Bad Blood”. Swift has a tradition on this tour to sing two surprise songs during each show. We were lucky enough to hear “A Place in This World” and “Today Was a Fairytale”. Following the surprise songs was the last era to be performed, Midnights, from her latest album. She opened with “Lavender Haze” followed by “Anti Hero”. It was incredible hearing the stadium say “It’s me, hi, I’m the problem, it’s me” in unison. During “Bejeweled” the bracelets lit up in a shimmering way throughout the stadium, fans were literally part of the performance. Taylor thanked all the fans for coming out and ended the show with “Karma”. Swift waved to the audience and gave a final bow with her dancers before exiting the stage. The Eras Tour was a show to remember, we can’t wait to have Taylor back in Houston.
Review by Michael Perea | Exclusively for Music, Why Not!