Taylor Swift’s biggest tour to date and the highest-grossing tour of all time is coming to an end after two years of on the road. The Eras Tour will have its final stops in Canada – Toronto and Vancouver – in late November and early December. The City of Toronto even introduced a “Taylor Swift Way” street sign outside Rogers Centre to honour the global pop star’s arrival to perform six shows in the city.
The Taylor Swift effect has taken the world by storm, proving that Swifties are a powerful fan base, one that brands can learn from when it comes to cultivating a loyal community.
For non-Swifties, a bit of background on the Eras Tour. Swift had a dispute with her former record label over ownership of the master recordings of her first six albums. She found a surefire way of owning the masters: she rerecorded her music. Fans embraced each new “Taylor’s Version” album – music they already loved, now reclaimed by Swift in a flourish of artistic and feminist empowerment. Artists typically tour their latest album, but the “Taylor’s Version” series and having released multiple albums throughout the pandemic, this created an opportunity for Swift to tour her entire catalogue to date – a gesture usually reserved for late-career artists, but which she was able to enact in her prime. Boss move.
Her team’s strategy has been astute, building huge anticipation for each new “Taylor’s Version” release. For fans, part of the fun of the release of The Tortured Poets Department double album in April was trying to uncover her Easter eggs hinting at the remaining Taylor’s Version releases: Reputation and her self-titled debut album: Taylor Swift.
Each Taylor Swift era is distinct in its music, style, and aesthetic. This variety has allowed fans and concertgoers to choose the eras that resonate most with them while following Taylor’s growth as an artist and embracing her entire career.
Each Taylor Swift era is distinct in its music, style, and aesthetic. This variety has allowed fans and concertgoers to choose the eras that resonate most with them while following Taylor’s growth as an artist and embracing her entire career.
For fun, we decided to look at Taylor’s eras through the lens of Social Values, to consider the nature of each album, how it’s been personified as its own distinct era, and which Social Values are foregrounded in its stories and sensibility.
Swift’s first four albums are considered fan favourites, especially for Millennials. Being a Millennial herself, Taylor has many fans who feel that they’ve grown up with her, and experienced similar eras as they’ve evolved from teenagers to adults.
Taylor Swift (Debut Album)
Taylor’s self-titled debut captures a youthful, small-town charm with themes of first love and heartbreak. Rooted in country music, it highlights her storytelling ability and relatable emotions. Fan favourites include “Tim McGraw,” “Picture to Burn,” and “Our Song.”
Key values reflected in the album:
Fearless
Building on her country sound, Fearless embraces youthful fairy tale fantasies and romanticized love. “Love Story” and “You Belong With Me” helped launch her into mainstream success.
Key values reflected in the album:
Red
This album fused country and pop sounds. For fans today, tracks like “22” and “I Knew You Were Trouble” deliver satisfying hits of 2010s nostalgia. Taylor’s storytelling strengths are also showcased here in fan favourites like “All Too Well,” a track that was extended to 10 minutes in the Taylor’s Version release in 2021.
Key values reflected in the album:
The next several albums characterize different aspects of Taylor’s career, from her hugely successful shift toward pop with 1989 to her “comeback” album Reputation. During this period, many Millennials remained committed Swifties, while her fanbase also grew to include to include a growing share of Gen Z.
1989
Her first fully pop album characterized the glamour of living your 20s surrounded by your friends and focusing on self-empowerment. Key singles included “Style” and “Shake it Off.”
Key values reflected in the album:
Reputation
Dark, edgy, and bold, Reputation was a comeback album of sorts. Swift had taken time away from the public eye after being the subject of gossip and criticism (a departure from earlier years, when she received almost entirely positive coverage as “Miss Americana”, which was also the name of her documentary released in 2020). She reclaimed her reputation and showcased new passions through tracks like “Don’t Blame Me” and “Delicate.”
Key values reflected in the album:
Lover
A pivot to a vibrant and colourful aesthetic, celebrating love in its purest forms with themes of acceptance and commitment through tracks like “You Need to Calm Down,” “Lover,” and “The Man.”
Key values reflected in the album:
folklore
Her most critically acclaimed album to date. Writing during the pandemic, Taylor challenged herself as songwriter and storyteller through this album, narrating stories outside of her own personal life to explore themes important to her. The folklore love triangle is told through 3 different perspectives from “august,” “cardigan,” and “betty.”
Key values reflected in the album:
evermore
The sister album to folklore also relies on storytelling and radiates similar feelings of attraction to nature. But evermore dives deeper into melancholic and haunting tales, exploring more mature themes in tracks like “champagne problems” and “tolerate it.”
Key values reflected in the album:
Midnights
This album dives into her late-night reflections and confessions, exploring themes of self-critique, anxiety, and dreams. Tracks like “Karma” reflect the Just Deserts Social Value.
Key values reflected in the album:
The Tortured Poets Department
Her latest release – a surprise double album, with an “anthology” released just hours after the album’s first segment – foregrounds rich lyrics, underscoring the “tortured poet” theme. She explores previous relationships and their effect on her image of self, while embracing a newfound love. Tracks like “The Smallest Man That Ever Lived” and “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” evoke the personal struggles she’s experienced alongside staggering career success.
Key values reflected in the album:
While the Eras Tour comes to an end in December, Swifties’ feeling for what each of Taylor’s eras means to them – and appreciation of each album’s distinct characteristics and sensibility – won’t end there. We’ve seen multiple generations attending The Eras Tour and trading friendship bracelets, a fan project that kicked off with the tour inspired by the line of the song You’re On Your Own Kid’s bridge inspiring Swifties to create community and connection. Millennial moms who grew up with her music and now get the opportunity to take their new Swiftie children to experience Taylor live. Young fans are even given their own pop-star moment during the tradition of the show where Taylor gives her hat to a young Swiftie while singing “22” on stage. The waves of novelty and nostalgia will continue for years – maybe even for generations.
Here are some of the friendship bracelets I’ve prepared for the upcoming Toronto shows
Search For Roots
Anomie & Aimlessness
Spiritual Quest