Taylor Swift’s 8 Best Moments From First Eras Tour Show in Toronto

For those who travelled to Toronto for the show, the excitement began on the plane: a half-dozen girls and young women exchanging notes on outfits (“You’re doing Lover?” “I’m doing Midnights!” “I’m going as Miss Americana”), making and trading friendship bracelets and even a few headed to the country without tickets, hoping for a day-of miracle. It continued at the bars and restaurants the night before and the day of, with themed cocktails flying and every conversation surrounding, in some fashion, the biggest event that has hit the city in years.

And by the time Taylor Swift took the stage in Toronto on Thursday night (Nov. 14) for the first of six shows, signaling the start of the Canadian final leg of her long-running and record-breaking Eras Tour, it had reached a frenzied pitch, the first notes of show opener “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince” nearly drowned out by the screams of those who had waited so long to see a show that may never come back around again.

“Here in 2024 we have taken Eras Tour all over the world,” Swift said early on in the show. “We went to Asia, we went to Australia, we spent all summer in Europe, swung back through America, and then we thought, ‘You know what? If we’re going to bring the Eras Tour to a close’ — which we are, in nine shows — ‘I was thinking, I want to spend those last shows with the most generous, encouraging, passionate, excitable fans.’ So we came to see you, Toronto.”

Prior to the show, the areas around the venue were packed full of people, either lined up to get in the second the doors opened or flooding into the bars and restaurants within the closest vicinity to the venue. But once she hit the stage, seemingly the whole city had squeezed into the Rogers Centre to witness the spectacle. Here are the eight biggest moments from Taylor Swift’s first of six nights in Toronto, with only eight of the 149 Eras Tour shows to go after this.

The Giant Traveling Friendship Bracelet

It made its debut in New Orleans, then was swapped to Indianapolis, and now it’s gone international: the giant friendship bracelet, a massive homage to the fan-led phenomenon that has become a staple for Eras Tour attendees, showed up outside the Rogers Centre to welcome fans to night one of the six-night run. While high winds meant it couldn’t remain standing in Indy, it stood proudly outside Taylor Swift Way, braving some chilly temperatures in the great white north and providing a convenient meeting spot for those looking to link up before or after the show.

Land Acknowledgement Opens the Night

Before opener Gracie Abrams took the stage, a sign flashed across the screen on the main stage, which read, “We acknowledge that we are performing today at Rogers Centre, located on Treaty 13 lands — traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit and the traditional home of many other nations including the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chippewa, and Wendat peoples. We acknowledge the First Nations, Inuit and Metis peoples whose original and treaty territories we stand upon.”

Land acknowledgements are a form of recognizing the indigenous people and their relationship to their traditional territories, often as a sign of respect and to promote awareness — Swift also did so in Australia to recognize Aboriginal peoples.

Kam’s Toronto Shoutout

One of fans’ favourite of Swift’s dancers, Kam, is known to have his own personalized shout out when she runs through “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” — often tailoring his moment to the city in which the tour is stopped in a given night. And he certainly played into it with the first Canadian stop on the tour, leaning into the Canadian accent by saying, “Soorry — aboot it!”

The Eras Tour For Everyone

“We’re about to go on a little adventure, and that adventure is going to span the last 18 years of music,” Taylor said towards the beginning of the show, before introducing essentially the whole vibe of the next three-plus hours. “Here’s the thing — you’re about to hear a lot of songs in this show. And these are songs I wrote about my life, my feelings, or something I invented in my imagination. And maybe that’s what you think about when you hear these songs out in the world. But all that’s about to change tonight, isn’t it, because after tonight, when you hear these songs, you’re going to think about us and the memories we made tonight at the Eras Tour. I’ll be your host this evening… my name is Taylor.”

Why the Eras Tour Matters

“I was probably about 15 when I started touring,” Swift said in the middle of the Red era of the show, before addressing her Canadian fans, and Eras Tour attendees in general. “So the way it works is, nobody’s forcing me to continue adding shows to a tour. Nobody’s saying, ‘You really should go see the fans in Canada.’ First of all, I love you so much — there was never going to be a time we didn’t come to see you guys. And second of all, I’m having more fun on this tour than I’ve ever had on any tour in my life. And the reason for that is that you guys have turned this into something that feels more than just a concert, for me at least.

“You have all these traditions you started, you turned it into a full event, and the way the city of Toronto has embraced us and welcomed us, we notice all of it. And it’s so heartening. It feels so good, and it feels so different than any experience I’ve ever had before. So honestly, thank you to anyone here tonight who got excited about the idea of the Eras Tour. Because you make this so much fun for us.” She then added, “And I have one more song I’d like to play you from the Red album, if you have about 10 minutes to spare…” I think you know which song she played next.

‘Folklore’ As a Canadian Experience

“We brought the Folklore house to Canada!” Swift said at the beginning of the era split between both of her pandemic albums, Folkore and Evermore.

“Doesn’t it seem like the entire Folklore era just belongs in Canada?” she said to thunderous applause. “The place that I envisioned in my mind where Folklore took place, it’s very natural, wilderness, beautiful, forests that have been there since the beginning of time. And it just kind of feels like we’re returning the Folklore era to where it belongs anyway.

“Folklore really was sort of an imaginary place where I would go in my mind,” she continued. “Because I started writing this album about two days into the pandemic, so I think we were all looking for our methods of escapism. This was one of mine: every single day I would write, and I would write differently than I had before. Because before Folklore, I had really mostly written from a very personal, autobiographical place; very “dear diary” type of thing. And that’s always going to be a fun way to write songs.

“But what I loved about Folklore is I kind of took on more of a narrator’s perspective: I’m going to create characters, and these characters are going to fall in love and get their hearts ripped out and go through all kinds of drama in their town, and it’s not going to be about me. It’s going to be about these characters. And long story short,” she finished, “Here’s a story about a character named Betty…”

Surprise Song No. 1

At this point — more than 125 shows into the tour — every fan knows to look forward to the surprise songs section. The first mashup she performed was “My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys” / “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things.” The former song, off Tortured Poets Department, she introduced with a nod to her recent Grammy nominations. “You guys did something over the course of the last few months, what you did with embracing Tortured Poets Department the album — it’s truly blown my mind. Because it’s truly emotional to me. This album — I wrote it during the Eras Tour. I wrote that album, made that album, all trying to keep it a secret from you guys, and then announced the album. And we basically were like working really hard to secretly put together a new chapter of the Eras Tour of the Tortured Poets Department, and we wanted to surprise you guys with it. And you guys have just been so wonderful about digging into this album and understanding where I was coming from with it. … Everything that happens is a direct reflection of the passion you show. And you guys got this album nominated for six Grammys. So thank you.”

Surprise Song No. 2

She then moved to the piano to get into her second surprise mashup — “False God” / “’Tis the Damn Season,” a mashup of Lover and Evermore songs, each a song about a love from the past. “This is a tradition that I started on the Eras Tour in an effort to challenge myself to play as many songs from different albums, different eras,” she said.

Toronto Night 1 Setlist

Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince
Cruel Summer
The Man
You Need to Calm Down
Lover
Fearless
You Belong With Me
Love Story
22
We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together
I Knew You Were Trouble
All Too Well (10-Minute Version)
Enchanted
…Ready for It?
Delicate
Don’t Blame Me ->
Look What You Made Me Do
Cardigan
Betty
Champagne Problems
August ->
Illicit Affairs
My Tears Ricochet
Marjorie
Willow
Style
Blank Space
Shake It Off
Wildest Dreams
Bad Blood
But Daddy I Love Him
Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?
Down Bad ->
Fortnight
The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived
I Can Do It With a Broken Heart
My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys / This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things
False God / ’Tis the Damn Season
Lavender Haze
Anti-Hero
Vigilante Shit
Bejeweled
Mastermind
Karma

This article also appears on Billboard U.S.