I Couldn’t Stop Crying When I Saw Taylor Swift

On April 15, Taylor Swift played her third and final consecutive sold-out show in Tampa, Florida, to a crowd of almost 70,000 people. This was the night I saw Taylor Swift perform live for the first time ever. 

At 7:53, the countdown to midnight began. My concert partner, aka best friend, and I were not ready. Initially, we thought she was scheduled to come out at 8:05, but as the clock got closer to the end, we realized we had less time to mentally prepare. Emotions flooded me, as I knew I would be crying, most likely the entirety of the show, but when the countdown ran out, and the music began, I lost it. An ethereal mashup of her songs from each era played: “big reputation,” “It’s been a long time coming,” “and they said speak now,” “loving him was red,” “meet me at midnight,” and before I knew it, she was on stage singing the first song “Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince” for the first era, Lover. The next song was “Cruel Summer,” one of my favorites and the unofficial Lover single. “Now we have arrived at the first bridge of the evening; I would prefer that we cross it together,” said Taylor, And that we did, as the stadium full of people screamed one of the best-written bridges ever. 

Throughout the Lover era, I could not help but cry, but I was able to control my emotions while she slayed singing “The Man,” “You Need to Calm Down,” “Lover,” and “The Archer.

The next era was Fearless, which I was appropriately repping with my “best dress” and cowboy boots. After about a 45-second costume change with fearless visuals playing on the big screen, she came out and started with, of course, “Fearless TV” and then sang two of her greatest hits, “You Belong with Me TV” and “Love Story TV.” 

The next era was Evermore, and the switch from happy to heartbreakingly sad was like whiplash. She started with “Tis the Damn Season” and then sang “Willow” and “Marjorie.” For the next song, “Champagne Problems,” she sat at her piano to play and gave a speech. She talked about what it was like during the pandemic and how she started writing new music just three days into lockdown. “Champagne Problems” was written during a time when she didn’t know when she was going to play live music again. Following her speech, she was met with applause from the crowd, chanting and screaming her name in signs of adoration. I was again filled with so much emotion; I couldn’t help but cry tears of joy for her as you could see how grateful and loved she felt at that moment. The last song in the era was “Tolerate It,” and that’s when light tears turned into full-on sobbing. Thank god for my waterproof mascara. 

The Reputation era followed, and the second I saw the snake visuals, I had to apologize to the people around me as I would go insane. As a rep girl, I was more than excited to see her walking out to the beat of “…Ready for It?” because I was, in fact, not ready for it. Next was “Delicate,” and of course, the whole crowd screamed the infamous chant, “1…2…3… Let’s go B*tch.” Then my absolute favorite song in her entire discography, “Don’t Blame Me,” played and I was, in fact, taken to church with that one. Screaming at the top of my lungs, not fully believing that I was hearing songs from one of my favorite albums live. Chills ran through me as the song transitioned with “Don’t blame me for what you made me do,” and “Look What You Made Me Do” played as the last song in the era. 

The Speak Now era is the shortest with just one song, “Enchanted,” but she came out wearing the most beautiful sparkling ball gown you couldn’t help but be in awe of. Loud chants of “Please don’t be in love with someone else” from the crowd as we got to the bridge.  

Image Courtesy: Variety

The next era was Red, opening with “22,” wearing the “Who’s Taylor Swift Anyway” shirt. She then played “We are Never Getting Back Together TV,” “I Knew You Were Trouble TV,” and “All too well 10-minute version TV.”   

Folklore was next, and you guessed it, I started crying again. Tied with Reputation as my favorite album, I, of course, could not keep it together, screaming and crying through “Invisible Strings,” “The 1,” and “Betty” until “The Last Great American Dynasty” played, and I got hyped. As one of my favorite songs on the album, I did not expect it to be on the setlist. The performance for this song was enchanting as the dancers wore beautiful and brightly colored dresses and suits. I love crazy women that dye their enemy’s dog key lime green! Folklore was one of the longer eras with eight songs; she continued with “August” (my birth month, and the person I identify with in the folklore love triangle), “Illicit Affairs,” and finished with “My Tears Ricochet” and “Cardigan.” 

The next era was 1989, and oh, how much I love this one. Taylor opened with “Style,” which has one of the best guitar riffs ever. You can’t help but dance to this era that was filled with hits like “Blank Space,” “Shake it Off,” “Wildest Dreams TV,” and “Bad Blood.”

Following this era was the acoustic section which consisted of two surprise songs that were not a part of the setlist and changed at each show. Swifties in the audience conversed about which song she thought she would play as she put on a green dress. She started with a beautiful speech and introduced the surprise guest, Aaron Dessner, who rose off the stage on a grand piano. Dessner is the founding member of the indie rock band the Nationals and a songwriter who has contributed to several of Taylor’s songs. The first song was “Mad Woman,” a song from Folklore. She must have known I’d be there because I was happy hearing any Folklore song. After all, I am in love with this album. I was screaming like a Mad Woman. The next surprise song was “Mean,” a song from Speak Now. It was so crazy to hear her sing the song while her voice had changed and matured. It made me even more excited for Speak Now TV. 

Image Courtesy: CLTampa

A big spectacle of this tour has been the infamous stage dive. The floor below her opens, and she dives into “water,” swimming off underneath the stage or the “sea” from the visuals. 

The last era would be her most recent, Midnights. And although it signified the concert was ending, I wasn’t feeling sad; I hadn’t even cried in a while. She opened with “Lavender Haze,” my favorite on the album, and continued with “Anti-Hero,” “Midnight Rain,” “Vigilante Shit,” “Bejeweled,” “Mastermind,” and closed with “Karma.” Hit after hit in that era where you couldn’t help but dance. 

Most people are familiar with concert depression, feeling sad when a concert has ended because you’ve looked forward to it for so long. In my case, seeing Taylor was ten years in the making. But when the concert ended and the confetti fell, I felt so much fulfillment and clarity. As long as I can remember, I have been a Swiftie. Before I even knew what that meant or truly understood the meaning behind loving a particular artist and their music. Not being sure of when I knew all the lyrics to her songs and even memorizing all the ad-libs. I finally saw this person I love perform my favorite songs right before me: a three-hour set, 45 songs, ten eras, and 70,000 fans. And considering I was on the floor, row 13, I’m going to be delusional and say she definitely saw me.  

Strike Out, 

Boca Raton

Morgann Rhule 

Morgann (yes with 2 n’s) is a content writer for Strike Magazine. Her best friends describe her as a shopaholic bookworm who gives the best advice. Born in Jamaica, she wears it proudly with a beaded red, green, and gold necklace she never takes off. You can reach her on insta @morgannrhule or email morgannrhule@gmail.com