Taylor Swift’s first night in Tampa: Fans descend on Raymond James Stadium

Update: Our full review of Taylor Swift’s first Eras Tour performance in Tampa has been posted. Spoiler alert — we were enchanted.

It’s been a long time coming but the day of Taylor Swift’s first Eras Tour show in Tampa has arrived. We’ll be documenting the night as fans crowd into Raymond James Stadium, decked out in their most Swiftified fits. Below is everything you need to know, from parking and traffic updates to the schedule and a preview look for any fans attending Friday or Saturday shows.

Below you’ll see the most recent update. Keep scrolling for what happened earlier in the day and for more news and resources.

10:41 p.m.: Suprise songs! I lose myself in a daydream.

The first surprise acoustic song of the night is “Speak Now” the title track of Swift’s “Speak Now” album. You can tell it’s been a while since she’s sung the track live due to a small hiccup with one of the verses. Is this a teaser for album news to come?

Next surprise song is quite ... “Treacherous.” Don’t get swept away, Swifties!

10:26 p.m.: Another new outfit — orange for “1989.″

9:55 p.m.: New dress for the “folklore” era and “the 1.”

Swift indeed played “the 1″ and was wearing a new dress!

9:40 p.m.: Florida humidity brings back the curls.

As any Floridian with naturally curly hair knows, no amount of straightening will save you. But it’s not bothering Swift at all.

“It’s just going to get curlier and curlier and I’m not even mad,” she said.

9:30 p.m.: So pretty in her new dress!

Swift broke out a new dress for her “Enchanted” number and Tampa fans on Twitter are loving it. Though we’re all kind of wondering about the long-sleeve choice for Florida.

9:15 p.m.: The crowd is loud and Blondie is loving it.

8:46 p.m.: Spoilers ahead! The setlist is moving swiftly with no new surprises. Yet.

Swift is in her “evermore” set and so far the only surprise of the night has been when she shouted out Gracie Abrams instead of the actual Tampa opener for night one, GAYLE. Abrams opened for Swift in Arlington and will be an opener for Friday and Saturday.

Swift excused her slip-up by saying, “13 is usually my lucky number but tonight it is also the amount of brain cells I have.” #Relatable

8:05 p.m.: Taylor Swift arrives on stage.

It’s not a Cruel Summer with you. Miss Swift has officially arrived in Tampa as she starts her set on night one of her only Eras Tour stop in Florida.

7:55 p.m.: The countdown begins and the cart is spotted.

The “cleaning cart” fans believe Swift uses to sneak behind the stage before the performance has been spotted being wheeled across Raymond James.

It also looks like Aaron Dessner, a Swift collaborator who worked on “folklore” and “evermore,” has been identified by fans at the show.

6:40 p.m.: Find your seats and ask yourself, “Are you ready for it?”

Reporter Gabrielle Calise and photographer Martha Asencio-Rhine made it to their seats in the H section of the floor. The staff in the yellow shirts mark the edge of Swift’s catwalk.

6 p.m.: Lines for the merch truck are still long.

Queues for the merchandise truck in front of the stadium were still going strong despite the late hour. There were also several lines for people to take photos next to the merch truck.

As far as what’s for sale: Merchandise ranges from $10 for a glow stick to $75 for a hooded, long sleeve. They were sold out of the highly-coveted crewneck.

-Gabrielle Calise

5 p.m.: Swifties are in the building.

4:40 p.m.: Taylgates organized on TikTok get the party started.

Jenn Stutler and Jessica Fiol (who has been posting concert tips on TikTok as @jessicafiol8) both organized tailgates and combined forces to bring a bracelet station, a photo booth, a makeup touch-up area and themed drinks. Hundreds gathered in VIP Lot 4 at Raymond James to join in the festivities.

— Gabrielle Calise

Meet the Hylton sisters: Shanique, 33, has been a fan since “Teardrops on my Guitar,” and traveled from Barbados. Ambyr, 25, and Lemara, 26, came from Miami. Their outfits represent three different eras: “1989,” “folklore” and “Midnights,” respectively. They came early to ensure they didn’t miss anything — and got bathroom breaks in before the show.

”I already told them we’re holding it,” Shanique Hylton said. “By 7:59 we have to be in our seats.”

3 p.m.: Traveling to the stadium and setting up camp.

Reporter Gabrielle Calise and photographer Martha Asencio-Rhine left St. Petersburg around 2:30 p.m. and got into parking lot 3D at Raymond James Stadium right at 3.

The congestion on Dale Mabry Highway wasn’t too bad before Spruce Street and actually cleared up before the stadium. They spotted a lot of open parking spots offered by businesses along Dale Mabry Highway, with the cheapest at the strip club 2001 Odyssey and the Holiday Inn Express (both $20), and going up to $40 and $50 closer to the stadium.

When they arrived, fans were already setting up their tailgates, making friendship bracelets, eating Publix subs and rocking their glittery outfits. The crowd was sporting lots of shimmery sequined dresses (“Reputation,” “Lover” and “Midnights” are the most-referenced albums so far) and they saw a few Swifties with Taylor manicures, each nail painted with a different color to represent a different studio album.

As for the weather: It was bright and sunny, 84 degrees, and it sure felt like it. But there was a nice breeze and it didn‘t look like it was going to rain.

— Gabrielle Calise

A look at the schedule:

The parking lots open each day at 3 p.m., gates to the stadium open at 4:30 and the show starts at 6:30 p.m. Beabadoobee and GAYLE are opening the show.

Swift should go on around 8 p.m. Her set alone will last 44 songs, roughly three hours.

Tampa Bay’s weather can be notoriously fickle. But worries that rain or lightning could cloud the tour’s three-night run have largely been cleared. See the full forecast.

Raymond James Stadium is reporting that parking is already completely sold out for all three shows.

A donation from Taylor Swift will provide over 125,000 meals for Feeding Tampa Bay.

What will Taylor’s set list be tonight? We analyzed other Eras Tour city set lists to predict what fans may hear.

Small aircraft are forbidden from flying over crowds of more than 30,000 people at major sporting events, but the same won’t be true for the concert of more than 65,000 Taylor Swift fans.

Despite a formal request from the Tampa Sports Authority, which was backed by Homeland Security and the FBI, the Federal Aviation Administration denied the stadium managers’ request for a flight restriction. Read the story.

A quick reminder that no light-up outfits will be allowed in the stadium as officials have said: “No costumes or signs with battery packs will be permitted.”

Take a peek at what a few dedicated Swifties will be wearing in Tampa.

Stay tuned to this story for more live updates.