Taylor Swift Weathered Another Eras Tour Rain Show — But Her Piano Didn’t Survive the Downpour
On Sunday, the singer’s keyboard began playing notes on its own during “Red (Taylor’s Version)” after being damaged in the rain on Saturday in Massachusetts
Taylor Swift performs during The Eras Tour at Gillette Stadium on May 20, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts TAS RIGHTS MANAGEMENT/GETTY IMAGES
When Taylor Swift’s Speak Now tour stopped at Gillette Stadium in 2011, she performed in the pouring rain for most of the show’s second half. Like the skies were somehow in on the joke, the first drops of rain fell right as she sang the lyrics: “With you, I’d dance in a storm in my best dress.” Each time Swift has returned to the stadium since then, the weather has been clear — that is, until the second official rain show of the Eras tour this weekend, which was a big deal for Swifties in Massachusetts.
“We’ve had rain shows at Gillette Stadium before, but this was a full on deluge that never let up, I just want to thank that iconic crowd,” Swift wrote on Twitter after Saturday night’s show. A few days after that rainy Speak Now show, the singer canceled four shows for the first time in her career because she developed bronchitis. Now, Swift herself seems to be okay — but the flower-painted keyboard she plays each night for the surprise song portion of the setlist isn’t fine at all.
On Sunday night, Swift played the Lover deep cut “I Think He Knows” as the first surprise song, performing on guitar. The second, for which she always switches to piano, was “Red (Taylor’s Version),” but before she could begin to play the notes — or even announce the song to the Gillette Stadium audience — the keys started playing without her touching them. “This has clearly broken my keyboard,” she told the crowd. “It was like, literally underwater. I didn’t know how any of the instruments were working last night. So this is broken, I’m just gonna get the guitar. It’s gonna be fine.”
The rest of the show went on without issue. The first rain show of the Eras tour was almost canceled entirely when the weather in Nashville just wouldn’t let up. Swift ended up taking the stage at 10 p.m., two hours after her usual start time, and performed until after 1:30 a.m. “The dancers, band, crowd and I all pretty much turned into little kids joyfully jumping in puddles all night,” she tweeted afterward. “I wanted to thank the crowd again for waiting for the weather to clear. And my amazing crew for keeping the stage, lighting, and equipment all dry and working so we could play. That was a late, great night I won’t forget.”
From Rolling Stone US.
