MUSIC
How Nashville is gearing up for Taylor Swift’s ‘homecoming weekend’
The city of Nashville is celebrating Taylor Swift’s three-day set of shows over the weekend, here’s how.
Taylor Swift’s next stop on her ‘Eras Tour’ is Nashville, Tennessee, the city where the pop star began her music career in 2006.
Swift will perform three nights at the Nissan Stadium, beginning on Friday, May 5 through Sunday, May 7.
Throughout her ‘Eras Tour’ stops, cities have celebrated the singer’s arrival in creative ways. Her stop in Houston saw the Houston Humane Society offering $13 cat adoptions in honor of the singer’s lucky number and love of cats, and temporarily renamed the stadium she performed at to “NRG Stadium (Taylor’s Version).”
The city of Glendale, Arizona, also temporarily renamed itself Swift City when she performed there in March.
Now Nashville is celebrating Swift’s return, and here’s how.
A park bench dedicated to Taylor Swift
Nashville’s mayor’s office issued a statement recognizing the upcoming weekend as “Taylor Swift homecoming weekend.”
“Over the last several months, cities nationwide have been welcoming Taylor Swift into their backyards, but here in Nashville, we have the distinct honor of being able to welcome her back to her own,” Mayor John Cooper told People in a statement.
Swift originally moved to Nashville when she was just 14 in order to pursue a music career.
The city has installed a park bench in Centennial Park with a plaque dedicated to Swift that reads: “For Taylor Swift. A bench for you to read on Centennial Park. Welcome home, Nashville.”
The bench’s location in Centennial Park is a reference to her song ‘Invisible String’ from 2020′s ‘Folklore’.
“Green was the color of the grass / Where I used to read at Centennial Park / I used to think I would meet somebody there,” a verse of the song goes.
A pop-up exhibit of Swift’s memorable outfits throughout her career
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in downtown Nashville also created a pop-up exhibit of some of Swift’s most memorable outfits named ‘Through Taylor Swift’s Eras’.
The exhibit is up for viewing throughout the month of May.
Other homages to Swift in Nashville
Fans will be holding ‘The Lavender Haze Ball’ on Thursday, May 4, with Swift-themed cocktails, and plenty of dance opportunities.
The Bluebird Café, where Swift performed live for the first time in 2004 when she was 14 and was discovered by record executive Scott Borchetta, will also be opening its doors to allow fans to see the stage. It will be hosting an open house throughout the weekend, from 10:00 AM to 2 PM.