Emma Chapman and Nadia Gandhi – Mustangs Ahead

(LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL) – American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift performed at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa during her “Eras” Tour.

Before Swift arrived in Florida, Tampa was temporarily renamed “Taympa, Swiftsborough” to represent the Eras Tour.

The Eras Tour is a show that takes fans through 17 years of Swift’s musical career with 10 studio albums.

Swift performed in Tampa for three consecutive sold out nights, April 13-15.

“Swifties” dressed up as their favorite era of Swift’s career or a reference to one of her songs.

LRHS senior Kaitlyn Case dressed up for the “Lover” era.

“I wore a pink sequin skirt with a pink crop top and heart sunglasses to represent Lover,” Case said.

Many fans are lucky to have survived “The Great War” of Ticketmaster.

Sophomore Lillian Chapman said, “At first, my sister and I did not buy tickets since Ticketmaster cancelled the sale. Eventually, my sister got an email a week before the show with an offer from Capital One in which we were given the chance to purchase our tickets.”

Junior Avery Rissler said, “I was so lucky to have gotten resale tickets since I didn’t originally get tickets from Ticketmaster. I have been a fan since I was nine years old, and this concert was everything I hoped for and more.”

Along with performing more than 40 songs for three hours, Swift performed two surprise songs each night.

  • Tampa Night 1- “Speak Now” and “Treacherous”
  • Tampa Night 2- “The Great War” with Aaron Dessner and “You’re on Your Own, Kid”
  • Tampa Night 3- “Mad Woman” with Aaron Dessner and “Mean”

Before entering the concert, everybody received light-up wrist bracelets which lit up according to the songs and eras.

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Freshman Payton Griffin said, “I thoroughly enjoyed the performance and showmanship. The quality and execution of the show was amazing, and I loved the wrist bracelets that lit up.”

Freshman Autumn Gouin enjoyed Swift’s performance.

“The performance was one of the best I have ever seen. Taylor is an amazing performer and whether you know every song or not, you will have the best time. Performing 44 songs in the span of three hours is insane, and she did a great job,” Gouin said.

Ranch Reflections are articles written by LRHS students and staff who want to share their experiences, thoughts, and concerns. This is a great opportunity for Mustangs to branch out beyond traditional news stories.  This edition features one Mustang’s experiences at Tampa’s Taylor Swift concerts.

Mustang thrilled over two Swift shows in one weekend

Mylee Payne-McDowell – Special to Mustangs Ahead

(LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL) – “It’s been a long time coming…” sings megastar Taylor Swift as she opens her first show in Tampa. From “bejeweled” bodysuits and boots to snakes and capes, people dressed to the nines to sing along for three hours with the pop star. 

This past weekend Taylor took the stage at Raymond James Stadium for three sold out nights.  I was there for two of them.

Every person there shining like a rainbow star in the night thanks to the light up bracelets given at the gate. Flashing colors and making designs in the crowd, the people were lit up and everyone was rooting for the “Anti-hero.”

The show travels through all her “eras,” from mystical fairyland “Evermore” to snake biting “Reputation,” which was my personal favorite, from the outfit to the dance routines. Taylor dominated the stage with songs from 2018 like they are brand new to everyone and they haven’t lost their magic over the years.

Standing with 75,000 other people who know the same lyrics, you can see in their eyes that they shgare the powerful emotions that take you over.  You scream your heart out to a 10-minute break up song and even though you might not even be dating anyone, you feel heartbreak because the lyricism of Taylor is truly unmatched. 

Taylor has a way of grabbing your heart with her genius lyrics and sweeping you up into her world for three hours and 15 minutes.

By the time you look up, you’ve gone through “Lover” from pink stardust sunsets to “1989” with bops like “Shake it Off” and “Blank Space” and just when you think you know what’s next, Taylor surprises the crowd every night with two surprise acoustic songs each night, so you’re grasping at every word she says right before announcing the title and the stadium erupts in screams of joy for the surprise gives. 

When finished with those surprises, Taylor suspiciously walks around her piano to an open part of the stage while water crashes on the screens all around her.

She takes a dive, showing Taylor is truly a performer that keeps you curious throughout the entire evening. 

She finishes her evening off with her latest album, “Midnights,” and leaves fans with fireworks and confetti and sends them walking out the stadium all singing the songs throughout the night leaving behind trails of glitter and all the fun they had all evening, proving that when Tampa is on the map for any Taylor Taylor tour, they’re “Ready For It.”