Taylor Swift's Eras Tour: The best and most memorable moments

So make the friendship bracelets

In the Midnights track "You're on Your Own, Kid," Swift sings, "So make the friendship bracelets / Take the moment and taste it." And from the tour's very first night on March 17, 2023, in Glendale, Ariz., fans took that instruction to heart, with Swifties everywhere crafting bracelets to trade at every show. Even the stadiums themselves got in on the action. During the Eras Tour stops in New Orleans in October 2024, a giant inflatable friendship bracelet spelling out "Taylor Swift The Eras Tour" adorned the side of Caesars Superdome. The oversized decoration then made its way to the next stops in Indianapolis, Toronto, and Vancouver.

Long live(stream) the walls we crashed through

No tickets? No problem! Social media coupled with cell phones' excellent video recording capabilities paved the way for fans to livestream the singer's concerts. A few dedicated Swifties even went the extra mile by curating all the different streamers and then re-streaming them live on their own YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok accounts so viewers wouldn't have to go looking for them. Thousands of fans from all over the world tuned in to these unofficial livestreams every night of the tour, commenting, screaming, and searching for Swift Easter eggs together — and thus creating a sense of community and joy rivaled only by the vibes of an actual concert.

Baby, let the games begin

The Taylor Swift Eras Tour, but make it sports. With anyone able to tune in via the livestreams, it was only a matter of time before someone turned it into a game — after all, Swifties love puzzles! And they didn't disappoint. Fans created games and even an app — the aptly titled Mastermind! — where viewers could choose which of Swift's many outfits they thought she'd wear each night, which surprise songs she'd perform, and whether or not she'd pull any surprises. Players with the most points could even win different Swift-themed prizes. Ahead of Vancouver Night 1, Mastermind had to date more than 1 million players. In the words of the pop star herself, now that's a real f---ing legacy to leave.

I can do it with a mended heart

Swift is no stranger to bringing special guests out for her shows, but nothing was more shocking than when her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, not only appeared on stage, but also participated in a choreographed sequence. During the London concert on June 23, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end — decked out in a top hat and penguin suit, no less — joined Swift for the Tortured Poets Department era's performance of "I Can Do It With a Broken Heart." Kelce gamely took on the role of her dancers, carrying her to a couch and trying various things to get her to perform. Our ears are still ringing from watching fans become shrieking banshees upon realizing that one of her professional dancers was actually the NFL star. Though this was Kelce's only onstage appearance, Swift included him in other shows by changing up the lyrics of "Karma," singing, "Karma is the guy on the Chiefs, coming straight home to me" whenever he attended a concert.

Champagne problems

Friendship bracelets weren't the only tradition to pop up again on the Eras Tour. The beauty of the format, in which Swift took concertgoers through her entire catalogue, meant that traditions from past tours could be resurrected for new and old fans alike (looking at you, "Fearless," hand hearts, and "1, 2, 3, let's go, bitch!" chant). But it also meant new customs for the new eras, including:

1. Competitions to see which crowd could cheer the longest and loudest after "Champagne Problems"
2. Fans waving their hands back and forth during "You Need to Calm Down"
3. Everyone turning on their phone camera light during Swift's tribute to her late grandmother "Marjorie"
4. People creating their own light-up orbs during the witchy "Willow" performance
5. Chanting "more!" during "I Can Do It With a Broken Heart"

She's only cryptic and Machiavellian because she cares

Early on in the tour, Swift promised fans she had surprises up her sleeve, and boy, she wasn't kidding. From debuting brand-new outfits throughout all of the stops, to welcoming special guests, to temporarily incorporating duets with some of her openers into the setlist (see: "Nothing New" with Phoebe Bridgers and "No Body, No Crime" with Haim), the singer-songwriter kept fans on their toes. No surprise was more game-changing than when she completely altered the show, though. During the first concert after the release of her 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, Swift and her crew not only debuted an entire new era (featuring seven new songs, no less!), but also switched up the order of the show, premiered all-new costumes, and cut entire songs to make room for it all (R.I.P. "The Archer," "Long Live," "'Tis the Damn Season," "Tolerate It," "The 1," and "The Last Great American Dynasty"). For a full list of the changes between Eras 1.0 and Eras 2.0, see EW's roundup here.

It's Jan Malone

Speaking of Tortured Poets, one of the funniest unintended moments from the tour came in that era, when Swift performed "Fortnight." The choreography mainly centered around Swift and dancer Jan Ravnik mirroring the failed relationship depicted in the single's music video, which starred Post Malone. Every night, Ravnik came up to the stage through a trap door, but somewhere along the way fans got it into their heads that Posty himself would one day come through that floor. Every time the trap opened, attendees would start screaming until they realized it was business as usual. Like the icon he is, Ravnik got in on the mistaken-identity fun for Halloween, dressing as Post Malone — tattoos and all.

The Errors Tour

Anyone who's ever done a live performance knows the one big mantra to live by: The show must go on. No one embodies that better than Swift. Over the course of nearly 150 shows, the 14-time Grammy winner battled through rain, extreme weather, illness, wardrobe snafus, technical difficulties — and, yes, a broken heart — all without batting a perfectly bejeweled eye. Special shout-outs of the "Errors Tour" go to its bug-swallowing incidents and the time the singer's Christian Louboutin boots broke, leaving the consummate professional to walk around like Barbie, on her highest tiptoes, for the remainder of the Lover era.

Lights, camera, bitch smile

The Eras Tour didn't just break concert venue records — it also broke box office records. Directed by Sam Wrench (Billie Eilish Live at the O2, BTS Permission to Dance on Stage - Seoul), the Eras Tour film earned more than $260 million at the global box office, making it the highest-grossing concert film of all time. Marketing for the movie — Swift bypassed the traditional studio system to distribute it to theaters (she is "The Man," after all) — encouraged fans to wear costumes, bring friendship bracelets, and sing and dance — essentially giving the Eras Tour experience to those who couldn't snag concert tickets, and letting those who did relive it in all its high-definition glory.

Taylor's Version

Swifties' screeching hit decibels that could be heard several galaxies over when Swift chose to announce the re-recorded version of her albums Speak Now and 1989 during her shows on May 5, 2023, in Nashville and August 9, 2023, in Los Angeles, respectively. In her official Eras Tour book, Swift wrote of the re-recordings, "Reclaiming my past made me fall back in love with it. Revisiting that past work made me want to honor it and honor what the fans had done for me with the Taylor's Version albums." What more iconic way to honor it than by sharing the announcements with fans in person?