Live: Taylor Swift Eras Tour returns to the U.S. in Florida

Swifties rejoice! Taylor Swift is back on her Eras Tour for her second – and final – U.S. leg after a two-month break.
The world’s richest female musician started the countdown clock to the end of her record-breaking tour Friday at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida (!!!).
USA TODAY Network reporters Bryan West and Samantha Neely attended the show, and provided live updates as the fans, friendship bracelets and frenzy returned.
Need all the tea?Sign up for Bryan West’s weekly email for all the best Taylor Swift news.
The Eras Tour’s first night in Miami ended the way it always has — with a burst of energy during “Karma.” Swift headed backstage and confetti fell. Thanks for following along with us as the tour returned to the U.S. Make sure to check out photos of Swift in Miami before you go, and find a recap of the night here.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
Swift revealed yet another new outfit with a pink, purple and blue dress for her surprise, acoustic set.
On guitar, she sang “Tim McGraw” from her debut album mashed up with “Timeless,” a vault track from “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).”
Up next was “This Is Me Trying” from “Folklore” with “Daylight” from “Lover” on piano.
Swift wrapped the European leg of the Eras Tour with five star-studded nights in London. But no special guest compared to Florence Welch, who joined Swift in unveiling new production and choreography for their “Tortured Poets” duet “Florida!!!”
Fans have been wondering ever since if the song would be added to the set list permanently when Swift returned to North America.
It was, at least on Friday. And Welch joined Swift again to belt their ode to the Sunshine State.
Fans closely track the outfits Swift wears on the Eras Tour, and she’s switched them up for every era except one.
That changed on Friday.
She finally, after 131 shows, debuted a different “Reputation” bodysuit as the rain poured down during “…Are You Ready For It?” This one’s black and covered in gold snakes rather than red ones. This will surely give Swifties plenty to clown about as they continue to wait impatiently for Swift to release “Repuation (Taylor’s Version).”
Swift also unveiled a new silver, fringed dress for her “Fearless” set.
Rain fell in Miami as the “Fearless” set ended. “Rain shows” hold a special place in Swift lore. The first Eras Tour rain show was in Nashville in 2023.
“The dancers, band, crowd and I all pretty much turned into little kids joyfully jumping in puddles all night,” Swift wrote on X after that show. “That was a late, great night I won’t forget.”
It’s a sequence of events Swifties know well. A countdown clock appeared that read 2:13. Lady Gaga’s “Applause” gave way to “You Don’t Own Me” by Lesley Gore. The moment had arrived. Swift and her massive Eras Tour had returned for one last leg in North America.
Miss Americana herself took the stage at 8 p.m.
“Miami, we are so back!” she proclaimed after singing “Cruel Summer” in an orange bodysuit and boots.
The music began at 6 p.m. as Gracie Abrams opened the show. The up-and-coming singer-songwriter took a break from her own Secret of Us tour promoting her sophomore album of the same name — which features a duet with Swift.
Abrams opened earlier U.S. dates on the Eras Tour and will be featured on the remaining North American dates through the end of this year.
“I’m a diehard Swiftie, so I’m literally just one of you. I’ll be in the stands in tears at soon as our set is over,” Abrams said from the stage on Friday in a sheer black dress with red detailing and a midriff cutout. She sang the following:
Several fan accounts are saying that Travis Kelce’s mom will be at the show tonight. And possibly Jason and Kylie Kelce and their kids. We’ll update you when we confirm the Kelce family – or some of them – are here to cheer for Swift.
We know that the Kansas City tight end is in full football mode and will more than likely not be in attendance at any of the Hard Rock stadium shows. The Chiefs have upcoming Super Bowl rematch game against the San Francisco 49ers on Oct. 20 at 3:25 p.m.
!!!
Will Swift come to Florida and not play the namesake song?
Will Florence Welch surprise the audience like she did in London? Time will only tell.
USA TODAY national music critic Melissa Ruggieri described “Florida!!!” like this when “The Tortured Poets Department” was released in April.
“Florida!!!,” co-written by and co-starring Florence Welch, is the standout, with Swift and Welch trading vocals over a stomping backbeat that is both cinematic and purposeful.
While it’s impossible to out-lyricize Swift, Welch nudges impressively close with her self-penned contribution: “Barricaded in the bathroom with a bottle of wine, well, me and my ghosts had a hell of a time.”
These two are ideal companions, musically and philosophically.
First it was glitter freckles.
Now yellow sweatshirts seem to be on our list for fall. Also, do we need another cat?
Swift showed up ahead of the tour with one of her three cats, this one Olivia Benson, captioning it: “Back in the Office.” This is exactly how we felt coming to work today. OK, maybe we needed the sweatshirt, which sold out within an hour of her post.
It was time for Olivia to take center stage. After all, Benjamin Button was on the Time magazine cover with Taylor last year.
Almost as much as the tour, we love seeing what fans wear to the shows. Each concert seems to bring more creativity. A few of our favorite looks posted by Swifties headed to the Miami show:
We’re enchanted by the look Swift wore to the Chief game against the New Orleans Saints. So was everyone else.
It wasn’t just the gorgeous edgy Vivienne Westwood dress.
It was those glitter freckles.
Sales for Fazit skyrocketed 3,500% following Swift’s appearance at the Chiefs game. The pop star’s endorsement, in addition to several viral TikTok videos and being picked up by Urban Outfitters, propelled the brand name into a higher echelon of the cosmetics industry.
“As many have seen I just started sobbing,” says Aliett Buttelman, Fazit’s co-founder, referring to a TikTok video that’s been viewed more than 7 million times. “To have your brand be worn by the No. 1 icon of our generation is validating for the hard work we’ve put in for two years.”
Bryan West
Here are the surprise songs that Swift has yet to play during Eras Tour:
Fearless (Taylor’s Version)
Red (Taylor’s Version)
Lover
The Tortured Poets Department
Swift has followed a specific setlist on her tour, changing it most significantly after “The Tortured Poets Department” was released.
Taylor Swift setlistSee the OG setlist for the epic Eras tour
She has removed the following songs from her setlist since “TTPD” came out:
Here’s the setlist she played in London on Aug. 20:
“Lover” album
“Fearless” album
“Red” album
“Speak Now” album
“Reputation” album
“Folklore” / “Evermore” albums
“1989” album
“The Tortured Poets Department” album
“Midnights” album
 “Taylor Swift – The Eras Tour Book,” a 256-page book with 500 images, including performances photos (from every era of the show), rehearsal pictures and reflections written by Swift will be out Nov. 29 at Target. The coffee-table style book likely will be a popular holiday gift for Swifties at $39.99.
Swift wrote about the book on Instagram earlier this week: “We’ll be kicking off the final leg of The Eras Tour this week, which is hard to comprehend. This tour has been the most wondrous experience and I knew I wanted to commemorate the memories we made together in a special way,” Swift wrote on her Instagram account announcing the book. It includes what she says are her “own personal reflections” of the tour.
– Melissa Ruggieri
The stadium gates open at 4:30 p.m., with Swift taking the stage around 7 p.m.
When the tour began in April of last year, no one knew exactly what to expect. Swift hadn’t toured since Reputation. Our national music critic Melissa Ruggieri attended that very first show in Glendale, Arizona, calling it: “as ambitious as a Broadway musical.”
Swifties knew the tour was big, but could anyone predict what the tour would grow into over the next year? Ruggieri wrote: “Not since the most vigorous days of Bruce Springsteen and his legendary live concerts has a mainstream artist packed so much music into one show.”
Read all of Ruggieri’s impressions of the first show.
Swift’s beau may have went to his final Eras Tour in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. The Kansas City tight end is in full football mode and will more than likely not be in attendance at any of the Hard Rock stadium shows. The Chiefs have upcoming Super Bowl rematch game against the San Francisco 49ers on Oct. 20 at 3:25 p.m.
Swift has cheered on Kelce at three home games so far. Her next NFL appearance may be the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Nov. 4 in Arrowhead Stadium. This will be after she completes her final American show in Indianapolis on Nov. 3.
– Bryan West
Gracie Abrams opens for Swift in Miami. She also was an opener for some shows on the tour last year. Our KiMi Robinson saw Abrams on her solo tour in Los Angeles in September and says she “sings like she’s letting you in on a secret.”
Will she sing “I Miss You, I’m Sorry” or “Close to You”? Here is what she has included in earlier Eras Tour openers:
Fans flying to Miami for the concert this week flocked straight to the stadium. Not for the show, of course, but to buy merch and not miss any of the concert while in lines.
Charmaine Brown went straight from her flight from Charlotte to the stadium and her reward: two plastic bags of Taylor Swift hoodies and T-shirts. Her bright red carry-on bag next to her as she ordered an Uber to her hotel. The super fan wore her bright red “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs coming straight home to me” tee and “All Too Well” sweatshirt tied around her waist.
“I took my first picture at 11:03 a.m., and my checkout picture was at 12:09 p.m.,” she said, showing off her recent photos. “I am so excited for the concert. I cannot wait. I hope Taylor knows we appreciate everything that you do for us.”
– Bryan West