Taylor Swift Announces ‘Speak Now’ Release Date in Nashville Homecoming

Taylor Swift delighted fans with her massive and impressive stadium show, the Eras Tour, which is currently on its 52nd show. After nearly two months into the tour, Swift made a special return to Nashville, Tennessee, the city where she first started her musical career as a country starlet.

The concert, held in front of a staggering crowd of 70,000 fans, was a momentous occasion as Swift revealed that she would be releasing a re-recording of her Nashville-era 2010 record, “Speak Now,” on July 7. This announcement marks the third “Taylor’s Version” recording, following the re-recordings of 2008’s “Fearless” and 2012’s “Red,” which were released earlier in 2021.

Swift had started re-recording her early albums due to a dispute over the ownership of the masters, which were sold to music executive Scooter Braun and then later acquired by a private equity firm. “Speak Now” was an album she wrote entirely by herself, and she performed one of the singles, “Sparks Fly,” after her announcement, followed by “Teardrops on My Guitar” from her 2006 self-titled debut album.

Despite a chaotic start to the tour with Ticketmaster’s inability to handle the high demand of fans eager to see Swift after an extended hiatus from touring due to the coronavirus pandemic, the fans who were lucky enough to attend the first of three shows in Nashville made sure to show out in their cosplay outfits inspired by Taylor’s songs, ranging from marching band geek to cardigans and cottagecore.

Swift kicked off the nearly 3.5-hour show with a line from “Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince” as a gentle spring rain sprinkled on the crowd: “It’s been a long time coming, but it’s you and me, that’s my whole world.” The Eras Tour theme is a natural fit for an artist whose music is often self-referential, winking and smiling at the previous Taylors and their moments.

The show is divided into acts, not moving chronologically through her discography, but instead presenting like a house with many rooms. The colour schemes, choreographed dancers, and outfits support the overall feeling of musical theatre, with a stage that incorporates rising platforms and hidden trap doors she can disappear through.

Swift performed over 40 songs from her 10 albums, hitting a lot of the highlights of her singles, including “You Belong With Me,” “Shake It Off,” “Bad Blood,” “Anti-Hero,” and “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” However, she also made time for special songs, like her 10-minute fan favourite “All Too Well,” and brought back opening act Phoebe Bridgers to perform their duet “Nothing New,” a vault track released on “Red (Taylor’s Version).”

The concert was a five-year wait to see all the glittering chapters of Swift’s career on stage together. But the pop star’s marathon performance carried fans through to the last notes, leaving them wanting more.