On her 2023 record-smashing Eras Tour, Taylor Swift broke her career down into different eras, with each of her ten albums representing a different stage in her life. With a set that lasted over three full hours, the concert artistically captured the different facets of the superstar’s personality.
The show is also a great way for Swifties and other fans to find themselves in the singer’s different stages and to relate their own lives to hers. So what Taylor Swift era are you? Read on and find out.
Lover
The show typically opens with songs from Swift’s seventh album, 2019’s Lover, first “Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince,” followed by “Cruel Summer,” “The Man,” “You Need to Calm Down,” “Lover,” and “The Archer.” It’s notable that, while the album starts with the rather cavalier “I Forgot That You Existed,” Swift opens her show with the love-drenched, optimistic “Miss Americana.”
This era is for those who put a priority on their love life, and who’ve experienced the range of love and loss that life throws at you. Swift celebrates resilience and independence while diving headfirst into love when it feels right.
Fearless
The next act on the Eras Tour is based on Swift’s second album, Fearless. The stage show features Swift in cowboy boots and a fringed dress, a nod to the album’s country-pop stylings, and includes performances of the title song as well as “You Belong With Me” and “Love Story.” At this stage in her career, the still-teenaged Swift focused on coming-of-age themes and songs about falling in and out of love.
Anyone entering a new world for the first time, such as college or a first job, hopeful and optimistic, might identify with this era.
Evermore
For act three, Taylor’s ninth album, 2020’s Evermore, is the theme, with the singer performing “‘Tis the damn season,” “Willow,” “Marjorie,” and “champagne problems.” A companion album of sorts to Folklore released only a few months before, Evermore revels in the same cottage-core styles — think indie folk, fingerpicking, and strings. Appropriately, the stage design features a forest theme, and during “Willow,” backup dancers hold pumpkin-like glowing orange globes for a Halloween feel.
You might relate to this era if you’re into nature and are in tune with folkways and ancient wisdom.
Reputation
Act four features songs from Swift’s sixth studio album, Reputation, released in 2017, when the singer was 28 years old. It’s one of the bigger departures from the star’s country roots, featuring drum machines, synthesizers, and similar electronic music instrumentation and techniques. For Eras, Swift sings scorchers like “…Ready For It?,” “Delicate,” and “Don’t Blame Me,” before finishing the act with the number one smash, “Look What You Made Me Do.”
If you’re the type that likes to mix up your style or situation every so often, this just might be the era for you.
Speak Now
Swift puts her third album, Speak Now, at the center of act five. The Eras Tour showcases two songs: “Enchanted” and “Long Live,” the first a love ballad, the second a remembrance of victories and success. Released when she was only 21, it was the first album written entirely on her own and found the star in transition from adolescence to adulthood.
This era is for anyone in transition, finding their voice, and finding confidence in past successes.
Red
Red is the choice for act six. This era is about passion, romance, and heartbreak, and features songs “22,” “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” “I Knew You Were Trouble,” and “All Too Well.”
Those who might let their passions and emotions get the best of them can no doubt relate to this era.
Folklore
Act seven showcases Swift’s cottage-core era with Folklore. It opens with a spoken word section from “Seven,” a song about lost innocence, followed by “Invisible String,” “Betty,” and “The Last Great American Dynasty.” She also sings “August,” “Illicit Affairs,” and “My Tears Ricochet,” before closing act seven with “Cardigan.” The stage design features a mossy cabin in the woods, with Swift embracing the folkways vibe by wearing a lengthy, airy dress. The songs themselves draw on folk myths, bigger-than-life characters, and romanticism.
This is the era for you if you’re a romantic irresistibly drawn to old-fashioned style.
1989
For act eight, 2014’s 1989 is the featured album. Gone is cottage-core, and in its place, the stage features a bright city skyline. “Style,” “Blank Space,” and “Shake It Off” are all featured, with themes of romance and learning to ignore the opinions of others. She follows those up with “Wildest Dreams” and “Bad Blood,” songs about resignation and betrayal.
This era is about navigating life in the big city when opportunities present themselves, yet disappointment is just around the corner. For anyone who’s had their dreams tempered by reality, this might be the era for you.
Acoustic
Act nine features Swift on either acoustic guitar or piano for a couple of surprise songs, which are different each show and never repeated. Songs featured include “Tim McGraw,” from her first album, “Mirrorball,” “This Is Me Trying,” and “State of Grace.” It’s one of the most popular moments of the show — when the crowd feels like they’re in on something special and intimate, only for them. For those people who prefer a lowkey coffeehouse to a boisterous bar, who can appreciate quiet intimacy and sincerity and anyone who can keep a secret between friends, this is the era for you.
Midnights
For the show’s final act, Swift’s most recent album, Midnights, takes center stage. Featured songs include “Lavender Haze,” “Anti-Hero,” “Mastermind,” and “Bejeweled” before the show closes with “Karma.” These songs touch on self-confidence, mental health, lost love, and perseverance and paint a picture of someone still standing tall despite vulnerabilities, struggles, and disappointment.
If none of the other eras felt like the right match for you, then no doubt you can relate to these feelings and emotions of Midnights.
