“I make music and I sing it with you, and when you sing along I feel better,” Taylor Swift told the crowd at East Rutherford, NJ’s MetLife Stadium, part of the way through the first of her three sold out nights at the venue. It’s a good summary of the appeal of her lavishly produced “Eras Tour,” which for all of its glitz and minutely choreographed rigor is ultimately an exercise in mass group catharsis. The whole stadium was singing, screaming, jumping, and dancing along the entire night, a mass outpouring of communal joy; over a marathon three-and-a-half hour run time, I barely saw anyone around me sit down, except during a couple of the between-era transitions. Sunlight glinted off an impressive array of sequined outfits, with many donning cowboy hats and boots, and trading homemade beaded bracelets inspired by Taylor’s songs.

In the five years since her last live run, 2018’s Reputation outing, we’ve weathered a pandemic that cast an uncertain future on large scale live events like this one. Acknowledging those worries, Taylor told the crowd that she’d set out to make as many albums as possible during her Covid-enforced break from touring, and no one could accuse her of not meeting that goal: she released Folklore and Evermore (which she called a “pandemic album”) in 2020, her “Taylor’s Versions” of Fearless and Red in 2021, and Midnights last year, with the “Taylor’s Version” of Speak Now due out in July. Still, it’s clearly up on a big stage in front of an adoring crowd that Taylor feels most at home, and what people crave from her: demand to attend the Eras Tour was historically high, and the resulting ticketing fiasco made national news and inspired a Senate Judiciary Hearing, with lawmakers probing Live Nation and Ticketmaster’s business practices. For those who couldn’t score tickets, crowds of fans have been gathering outside venues on Eras tour stops to sing along to whatever sound bleeds out of the stadiums – NJ Transit and MetLife all but begged those without tickets not to continue the practice this weekend, but some still did.

In the TikTok era more than ever, people attend a large-scale pop show expecting a feast for the senses, and Taylor certainly delivered on that front too. Each album had its own carefully crafted aesthetic with its own costumes and visuals, and the setlist songs, which mostly stay the same from night to night (except for a two-song acoustic set ahead of the Midnights portion of the show), are perfectly chosen. “Willow” had witchy vibes, with Taylor and her dancers twirling in cloaks, while “Enchanted” had her embodying the archetypical fairytale princess. There were so many highlights: a few that stuck out to me were the gentlest confetti fall, like snow, during “All Too Well;” the glowing bicycles during “Blank Space;” and Taylor’s dive ahead of the transition to the Midnights era. Reinforcing the communal vibe, attendee’s light up wristbands pulsed in time to the songs all throughout the night. Taylor is a master of drama, too, of building it and letting it peak and reverberate through the stadium.

For all the pleasures of a well-scripted show, some of the most memorable moments of the night were when Taylor seemed to go off script. Applause from the crowd peaked after “Champagne Problems,” going on indefinitely, and Taylor seemed to briefly lose her composure, appearing on the verge of tears. Then, there were the surprise guests: her longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff, who she brought out for “Getaway Car” during her acoustic yet (Midnights track “Maroon” was the other acoustic song, getting its live debut) and Ice Spice, who came out for her part in the new “Karma” remix, the last song in the night (earlier, the video got its premiere at the show, as well). Less of a surprise, but no less welcome, was Taylor bringing out opener Phoebe Bridgers to join her on “Nothing New.”

Check out pictures (including of Phoebe and GAYLE‘s opening sets), attendee-taken video, Taylor and Phoebe’s setlists from night one at MetLife Stadium, and the new “Karma” remix video, below.

SETLIST: TAYLOR SWIFT @ METLIFE STADIUM, 5/26/2023
Lover
Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince
Cruel Summer
The Man
You Need to Calm Down
Lover
The Archer

Fearless
Fearless
You Belong With Me

evermore
’tis the damn season
willow
marjorie
champagne problems
tolerate it

reputation
…Ready for It?
Delicate
Don’t Blame Me
Look What You Made Me Do

Speak Now
Enchanted

Red
Red – Intro
22
We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
I Knew You Were Trouble
Nothing New (with Phoebe Bridgers)
All Too Well (10 Minute Version)

folklore
seven
the 1
betty
the last great american dynasty
august
illicit affairs
my tears ricochet
cardigan

1989
Style
Blank Space
Shake It Off
Wildest Dreams
Bad Blood

Surprise Songs
Karma (Remix) (premiere of the music video with Ice Spice)
Getaway Car (with Jack Antonoff)
Maroon

Midnights
Lavender Haze
Anti‐Hero
Midnight Rain
Vigilante Shit
Bejeweled
Mastermind
Karma (with Ice Spice)

SETLIST: PHOEBE BRIDGERS @ METLIFE STADIUM, 5/26/2023
Motion Sickness
DVD Menu
Garden Song
Kyoto
Scott Street
Moon Song
Emily I’m Sorry
Graceland Too
I Know the End