Taylor Swift’s ‘The Eras Tour’ Sets A Precedent For Inclusive Opening Acts On A Massive Stadium Run

“I know someday I’m gonna meet her, it’s a fever dream… She’ll know the way and then she’ll say she got the map from me,” Taylor Swift sings on her 2021 Red (Taylor’s Version) vault track, “Nothing New,” which feels like a current manifestation, despite it seemingly being written in 2012 — when she was just 22.

Now, at 33, Swift kicked off her massive The Eras Tour last week, after months of intense anticipation and a roller-coaster ride with Ticketmaster.

She’s also setting a serious precedent with the tour by shining a spotlight on entirely women-led, non-binary, and POC musicians as opening acts on a national (and, potentially, global) stage. While this shouldn’t come as a shock in 2023, many major music festivals still struggle to bill more than a few representational artists, especially in headlining spots.

Still, Swift is pushing things forward. In recent years, she has become a mentor of sorts to artists like Gracie Abrams, Olivia Rodrigo, and Sabrina Carpenter — the first of which is opening for her in New Jersey.

“She’s as spectacular a person and friend as she is an artist, writer, director. She’s really that great,” Abrams told Billboard. “To be able to lean on her in any capacity really means a lot. The opportunity is so outrageous – it’s a funny thing to talk about, having not done it yet, because I feel like I don’t even really believe it’s real… To see her up close in that way and be able to study that is the greatest gift.”

Before announcing the opening acts, many fans had wondered who Swift would be bringing along with her, given that having a chance to open on a stadium tour for someone of her magnitude is a massive achievement.

By selecting artists like Gayle, known for her 2021 viral song, “Abcdefu,” Muna, and Girl In Red, Swift shows off her business-savvy nature once again. In recent years, TikTok’s impact on propelling new musicians to the top of the charts has been undeniable — with Gayle and others including Coi Leray and Bella Poarch being more recent examples.

This allows younger social media users to feel represented by seeing their favorite internet-influential performers as opening acts.

Gayle has recognized just how much this means as well. As she opened both in Glendale and this weekend’s shows in Las Vegas, she was overwhelmed at the opportunity. It gave those who might have doubted her abilities as a musician from her single the chance to be proven wrong — as her cover of Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know” from Arizona made the rounds online.

The two reportedly met in September, when Gayle performed the song at the Nashville Songwriter Awards. “She was just like, ‘You did a great performance — I’m gonna call you,’” Gayle also told the publication. “Now I’m here, and I can’t believe it. I feel like I’m lying. I feel like this is a dream. I don’t know where I am. I don’t know what I’m doing.”

Both Gayle and the other Vegas opener, Beabadoobee, received shoutouts from Swift during her three-hour performance. Swift and her opening act picks are so close behind-the-scenes that she even shared a conversation that she had with Bea, which led to her choosing her 2006 song, “Our Song,” as one of the surprise selections.

On the other side, Swift included her longtime friends and industry veterans in Paramore and Haim to join her as well. Her relationship with the former’s lead singer, Hayley Williams, goes back to their Nashville days — as they were two young female artists in the scene at the time.

“I was like 18 at the time, and it felt kind of lonely, to be that young and to be doing things, like the Grammys and all that.,” Williams said while on stage at Glendale’s opening night, including a touching moment from Swift’s mom, Andrea. “And I met someone as I was leaving. And she said to me, ‘My daughter, she just played, she’s just getting started and she doesn’t really know anybody in the business. And I just really want her to be around people her age that are doing the same thing, and so I got her number.”

The only man on the tour is Owenn — who also has years of trust in Swift as both a boss and a friend. He served as a backup dancer on her previous tours for 1989 and Reputation, and co-starred in her “Lover” music video, before making his foray into music. Swift had also helped him sign to his first record label.

“Honestly I have no words and I can’t believe I’m announcing this… I’m so blessed and grateful for this opportunity,” he wrote on Instagram.

Some fans, before the tour announcement, had thought that Swift might bring some of her recent collaborators. This has been partially true, as Phoebe Bridgers is set to open in Jersey, while also giving space for others like Aaron Dessner and The National or Jack Antonoff to join in other cities. (During Swift’s second night in Vegas, she brought out Marcus Mumford to perform “Cowboy Like Me” together.)

This representation also carries into other aspects of Swift’s tour, not only the openers. During her headlining set, the backup dancers come from a range of backgrounds. As one fan pointed out in a thread, they also have impressive and unique resumes, with past tours including Dua Lipa, Janet Jackson, The Weeknd, Lady Gaga, and work with Disney through TikTok.

Outside of The Eras Tour, Swift’s push for self-ownership in music has served as a warning to younger artists, especially re-recording her first six albums. The previously-mentioned Rodrigo made serious waves in the industry with her 2021 debut album, Sour. It was also entirely owned by her and her alone. As a certified Swiftie from childhood, Rodrigo cited seeing Swift’s battle to own her masters (and now re-recording her first six albums) as something she looked out for when signing her contract.

As Swift approaches being in the business for two decades, she has made it clear that her success and longevity aren’t slowing down anytime soon but have only gotten stronger — purely through her willingness to mentor new artists amid a changing industry and push for artist ownership to help rising musicians in all genres.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.