Taylor Swift and Gillette Stadium: A Love Story

FOXBORO, Mass — Taylor Swift is arguably the biggest pop star in the world right now, and she’s coming to Gillette Stadium for 3 nights of The Eras Tour on May 19, 20, 21.

Fans online are speculating that this weekend won’t just be a big deal for local fans, but will be legendary for Swifties as a whole; that’s because her history with Gillette Stadium runs as deep as her 10-album discography. Here’s everything you need to know about the folklore of Taylor Swift and Gillette Stadium, and why fans are bracing for impact.

Taylor Swift and Gillette Stadium: A Love Story

Taylor Swift first played at Gillette Stadium on June 6, 2010, as part of her Fearless tour. It was her first-ever NFL stadium show, performing to a crowd of 55,000 adoring fans. She returned the following year for two nights on June 25 and 26, 2011 while touring with her third album, Speak Now. The first of these shows would become a crucial part of Taylor Swift’s history, as it poured down rain while Swift and her fans danced the night away. Because of Swift’s long-documented love of rain, this concert is now known lovingly as “the rain show” by her and her fans alike. In fact, when asked by Rolling Stone about her favorite part of the tour, Swift cited that night, saying, “Right as I sang a lyric ‘with you, I’d dance in a storm in my best dress, fearless’...a monsoon broke out.… I thought, ‘They’re all gonna leave.’ Instead, they went nuts, dancing in the rain, screaming louder. It was awesome.”

She returned to Gillette for her Red Tour, 1989 Tour, and became the first female headliner to sell out 3 nights at Gillette Stadium on her Reputation Tour.

You’re My, My, My, My Lover(fest)

In 2019, Taylor Swift released her 7th studio album, Lover. The tour to follow was not much of a tour at all–she was diving into the festival circuit with appearances at Roskilde Festival in Denmark and Festival de Nimes in France. She was even set to headline Glastonbury. However, some areas didn’t lend themselves well to her vision, New England being one of them, so Gillette Stadium became one of two US locations to get their own Taylor Swift music festival called Loverfest. Loverfest was canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19. This weekend marks her first appearance at a Loverfest location.

The Numerology of Taylor Swift

Any Taylor Swift fan knows her lucky number is 13. She used to write it on her hand before every performance and it’s often used as an easter egg by Taylor to hint at upcoming albums, music videos, and songs. She even turned 13 on Friday the 13th in 2002.

This Sunday, May 21st, is Taylor Swift’s 13th show at her favorite stadium, and fans don’t think it’s a coincidence that the show’s date, 5/21/23, adds up to 13.

While we don’t know exactly what’s up Taylor’s sleeves, we can’t help but think it’s going to be huge, especially with another rain show predicted for Saturday. Fans are speculating about special guests, fan-favorite surprise songs, and some are even going a step further thinking she’ll announce 1989 (Taylor’s Version).

I sit and write this wearing my Folklore cardigan, reminiscing on when I was at the rain show in 2011, and making my best guesses on what the surprise songs will be (my money’s on Long Live for Sunday). As we rush into Foxborough again for her 11th, 12th, and yes–13th shows at Gillette, we can’t help but get mystified by how this stadium screams her name.

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