Drop everything now. Taylor Swift has proved time and again that she doesn’t just put up with inclement weather during her concerts, she thrives on it.
“I don’t know if you’ve heard this about us, but here on the Eras Tour, we absolutely adore a rain show,” Swift, 34, told concertgoers at her Tuesday, July 23, show in Hamburg, Germany. “I think a rain show only chooses a crowd that is completely worthy and ready to party with us all night in the rain.”
The crowd cheered in response, confirming their willingness to spend upwards of three hours dancing to Swift’s discography as rain poured into the Volksparkstadion arena.
“I thought so,” Swift replied with a smile.
Being present for one of Swift’s so-called “rain shows” has become a badge of honor, to the point that some fans actually hope for one. “I love a rain show and I am jealous of every crowd who gets one actually,” one fan wrote via X after the Hamburg downpour.
Several eras ago, one of Swift’s most famous rain shows took place during a June 2011 Speak Now Tour stop in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
“Right as I sang a lyric in ‘Fearless’ — ‘With you I’d dance in a storm in my best dress, fearless’ — I felt a drop of rain hit my hand. Then another, then another, then a monsoon broke out,” Swift told Rolling Stone of the show in August 2011. “I saw girls with their perfectly curled hair turn sopping wet. I thought, ‘They’re all gonna leave.’ Instead, they went nuts, dancing in the rain, screaming louder. It was awesome.”
Swift has continued to embrace stormy performances ever since. In May 2023, she celebrated her “first rain show of the Eras Tour” after a wet night at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium. Although the show did, in fact, go on, it was pushed back several hours due to lightning strikes nearby.
“It was SO MUCH FUN. The dancers, band, crowd and I all pretty much turned into little kids joyfully jumping in puddles all night. I wanted to thank the crowd again for waiting for the weather to clear,” Swift wrote via X. “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. 🥹.”
Swift shared more insight into her love of rain shows when she was once again treated to torrential conditions at Foxborough’s Gillette Stadium in May 2023.
“When you’re standing in the pouring rain with people, you just kind of feel, like, this romantic sense of camaraderie,” she explained during the acoustic portion of the show, her green dress and blonde locks drenched.
She dubbed the concert “the rainiest rain show that ever rain showed, ever, ever, ever” before going on to thank the “iconic crowd” via Instagram.
“Last night we all danced together in the rain for THE ENTIRE 3.5 HOUR SHOW in foxy Foxborough MA!! We’ve had rain shows at Gillette Stadium before but this was a full on deluge that never let up,” Swift wrote. “Love you so much you have no idea 💕🥰🥲.”
The dedication of Swift’s fanbase is on full display at even her sunniest shows. Since the Eras Tour kicked off in March 2023, Swifties have shown up to stadiums dressed in elaborate outfits that nod to various stages of the singer’s career. They make friendship bracelets, speculate about which surprise songs Swift will sing during the acoustic set and shout “Let’s go, bitch!” during the Reputation song “Delicate.” (If you know, you know.) Still, there’s no devotion quite like that of a crowd that is soaked, singing along and still smiling.