Taylor Swift. Objectively, one of the most important artists on the planet currently. With her viral ‘Eras Tour,’ a three-hour long concert which is spanning two years and visits five continents, she has boosted the British economy by almost £1 billion with her UK tour dates alone.
It is obvious this tour has seen an increase to Taylor’s fame. With other celebrities in attendance to watch at almost every show, it has become a sought-out event that most young girls wish to experience. But the Eras Tour fame isn’t just limited to Taylor, the wide variety of opening acts has seen a shift in success to those performing.
Taylor Swift aims to give smaller artists huge exposure when opening for her, which Sabrina Carpenter is a prime example of. Sabrina started opening for Taylor in March 2023 and covered 25 shows, with locations including Latin America and Singapore. These shows helped Sabrina reach stardom, with her song ‘Espresso’ breaking charts when it released in April 2024. On top of this, her summer album ‘Short n’ Sweet’ spent four non-consecutive weeks at the top of the charts in August 2024. It’s no doubt that Sabrina’s fame is due to the Era’s Tour – and with Sabrina’s massive fame increase, her ‘Short n’ Sweet’ tour has become just as sought after as the Eras Tour. Sabrina, in the past weeks, even re-appeared at the Eras Tour as a surprise guest, delaying rest from her own busy tour for the chance to sing alongside Taylor.
Research has even proven the growth of Swift’s opening acts, as ticketing platform Viagogo found that Paramore’s ticket sales grew 31% year-on year in 2023 as they supported Swift’s tour. Sabrina Carpenter’s page views on the ticket platform grew by 16,000% after she opened for the star.
Another successful opening artist is Gracie Abrams. As a long-time friend of Taylor, it should be no surprise that she is one of the Eras Tour’s most frequent opening artists. Initially, Abrams was set to only join Swift during the U.S. tour in 2023. However, she has returned for additional dates in 2024 and is set to conclude The Era’s Tour with Taylor during the final Canadian shows in December. The Eras Tour has been very influential for Gracie Abrams, with five million monthly listeners on Spotify at the end of 2022, she has now reached over 30 million monthly listeners. But it is not just popularity, many fans note Gracie’s confidence boost. Regularly performing to crowds over 90,000 certainly changes stage presence and Gracie has grown as an artist, becoming more confident in her voice but also her song writing. Furthermore, Gracie’s chart-topping album ‘The Secret of Us’ saw her nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammys, an accomplishment that may not have been achieved without her Era’s Tour success. Her album also features a song called ‘Us’ which Taylor Swift duets on, which allowed Abrams to appear as a surprise guest at a Wembley Eras Tour date to duet the song.
It is clear that the Era’s Tour has given name to a wider range of artists, from Grammy nominations to guest appearances – many openers go on to wider success outside of Taylor Swift. However, Taylor hasn’t just focused on consistent openers, often when she performs at the same venue multiple times she will invite one night only openers. In Wembley, artists like Suki Waterhouse and Holly Humberstone were invited on a single night to perform. It’s clear Taylor is helping young, female artists break out into the music industry.
