Last night, the weather did not look good. I had plans with two friends and my husband to see Taylor Swift play at Nissan Stadium for her third Nashville show in The Eras Tour. She had successfully played the Friday and Saturday night shows, both of which also had potentially stormy forecasts, but cleared up. Sunday was different. The forecast only got worse, not better, as the concert time approached. Still, we stayed positive and got ready together, even as the sky darkened.
I wore this The Archer t-shirt with this ribbed tank dress underneath (size XL to give it a looser, more comfy fit) and some old boots (regretful – should’ve worn sneakers) for a Lover-era outfit. We all wore the bracelets we’d made – Holiday House, Starbucks Lovers, Stars Around My Scars, Karma is a Cat, Calm Down, and more (you have to be a Swiftie to know!) – in order to trade them with other fans at the show (though we never ended up getting the chance).
With butterfly clips in my hair, I got geared up to go to the show around 5:30, when we’d planned. However, the four of us opened the front door to an absolute monsoon. Nissan Stadium had issued a shelter-in-place order, so we decided to stay put at our house. We ended up hanging there for nearly four more hours and passed the time by eating snacks and watching the 1989 World Tour followed by Taylor Swift music videos. Finally, by 9:15 p.m., the show had not been canceled, and it seemed like things were mobilizing at the stadium. Based on the weather, I expected Taylor to get on stage around 10:00 (with the openers canceled), and we decided to head down there. We were able to zip downtown quite quickly and park on the street by this time of night.
Thankfully, we got into our seats just in time! Above is our view from section 240. Things started out smoothly, with clear skies and comfortable temperatures through the Lover, Fearless, and evermore eras. And then the rain slowly began during the Reputation era – the song “Delicate,” specifically – and stayed light until it began to absolutely pour for the Red era and continued through folklore, 1989, and Midnights. There was truly nothing to do but embrace the rain. We put on our ponchos and continued to sing and dance our hearts out along with Taylor. She kept saying how special the rain shows are, how they are a bonding experience, and only saved for the best audiences. It rained so much that I soon barely felt the water anymore, even lowering my poncho hood to let it fall on me.
She played from 10:00 p.m. – 1:30 a.m. through literal Midnight Rain. It was so worth it, the best show ever. From having and giving all her energy all night, to being human on stage and pulling a stray hair out of her mouth in the pouring rain, to telling us we’re all going to look like river otters after this, and that we’d all be bonded for life from the experience. In her words, “We never forget the rain shows.” I got to bed at 3:00 a.m. and am not functioning well today, but I sure am floating on a cloud.
Here are my highlights and tips if you are going to one of her shows this spring or summer!
Highlights
- She played and sang incredibly all night long, and the entire show was a blast. Some particular standouts to me included “Marjorie,” “All Too Well (10-Minute Version),” the transition from “August” to the excerpt from “Illicit Affairs,” “Style,” “Bad Blood” (actual fire warmed us up in the rain!), and the entire Midnights era (the end of the show) had tons of incredible energy and dancing. Truly, though, from start to finish, it was magical.
- The surprise song with a surprise guest – Taylor played “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” with Aaron Dessner of The National, a band I love.
- Every time Taylor connected with the audience – it was just so sweet and special.
- Taylor and her dancers having the time of their lives in the rain!
Tips
- Bring earplugs. I wore these, and they were fantastic. I did not wear them the entire time, but would pop them in for especially loud cheering and songs. It really helped, and my ears were not ringing at the night’s end.
- Wear comfortable shoes. I really wished I’d worn these instead of the boots that I chose.
- Check the weather, and be prepared. I would have been miserable without the poncho I brought!
- It is very doable to use the restroom quickly and easily without missing more than a minute. Most people stay in the stadium for the entire show.
- Cancel all plans and take off work the next day; it’s quite a show and requires time to recover.
- Embrace whatever happens. We expected our show to start at 6:30 p.m., and it began at 10:00 p.m. instead. As it turned out, dancing in the middle of the night in the rain with Taylor was an unbeatable, unforgettable experience that we only could have imagined in our Wildest Dreams.
It was truly a marvelous time!
