Taylor Swift’s Edinburgh show is a ‘spectacle with substance’: Critics are united in praise for star’s Eras Tour and say she inspired a ‘secular religious mass ritual’ among fans

The verdict is in: Taylor Swift’s first Edinburgh show on Friday night was a resounding success with fans and critics alike.

The pop superstar, 34, wowed the Murrayfield crowd and told them ‘we need to do this again’ on the opening night of her Eras Tour in the UK.

The hitmaker touched down around lunchtime on Friday before she was whisked away in a blacked-out vehicle accompanied by a police escort.

Taylor has received universally glowing revies from British music critics who attended her first show in the Scottish capital.

Writing for The Guardian, Alexis Petridis awarded her show five out of five stars, noting the American singer seems ‘all-powerful’.

He wrote: ‘It’s an incredibly impressive show. It succeeds in leaping between an eclectic range of material – dubstep-inspired, dark-hued pop; tweedy folk; monster-chorus-sporting anthems and acoustic guitar-driven songs that show her Nashville grounding – all of it linked by Swift’s keen melodic awareness and ability to turn songs about famous ex-partners and celebrity nemeses into universally relatable figures.’

Writing for the Daily Mail, Adrian Thrills also awarded the show five stars and descibed it as ‘a spectacle with substance’.

Praising the career-spanning nature of her three-hour long show, he wrote: ‘It’s easy to get lost in the Swiftiverse: the speculation surrounding the lyrics about her exes; the different colour codes for each album; the £1.5 billion this tour is expected to generate. But all the background noise fades the minute this brilliant performer hits the stage.’

In one of the most rave reviews, Neil McCormack also gave Taylor’s performance five stars in The Telegraph and said the devotion she inspired among her fans in the crowd was akin to a ‘secular religious mass ritual’.

He wrote: ‘There were no special guests, and little straying from a by-now familiar script. But no one could feel short-changed by a set that really had it all, succeeding in what might seem on paper to be an impossible synthesis of serious singer songwriter and full on commercial pop machine.

‘Swift left it all onstage, standing sweaty and exhausted at the end, with a smile that somehow extended beyond her permanent air of artificial delight to shine with unalloyed joy.’

Writing for The Independent, Annabel Nugent noted The Beatlemania-like devotion Taylor’s fans have for the singer, with many brought to tears during the concert.

She wrote: ‘Across the evening, I see girls yowling, wailing, swooning, hugging. But more than anything, I see girls crying. There are some Beatlemania-style sobs.

Not only during the lovelorn ballads, but at seemingly random points, too. Even the coquettish sugar rush of ‘Love Story’ and ‘Fearless’ yield wet, mascara-strewn cheeks.’

The BBC’s music correspondent Mark Savage praised the singer for keeping her Eras tour fresh, even as she approaches its 100th show.

Noting a moment where she told the crowd that Scotland inspired her albums Folkmore and Evermore, he wrote: ‘Even as she approaches the 100th show of this mammoth tour, she is still creating new moments to keep the conversation circulating.

Even fans who tune into livestreams of every concert are given something to fresh to discuss, as the singer constantly updates her outfits and switches up her setlist.’

Writing for The Times, Will Hodgkinson said the show is enjoyable even for those who may not be die hard Swifties.

He wrote: ‘With her emphasis on hard work, emotional expunging, ability to capture the concerns of young women worldwide and a general suggestion that if you can dream it, you can be it, she is a triumph of wholesomeness.

‘No wonder, during a particularly volatile period in world history, she has become such a phenomenon.

Over the course of 46 songs, Taylor shook off a cramp in her hand, witnessed a live proposal, gifted a fan her hat and even suspended a tune so fans could receive medical aid – and in between those events
found time for an almost insurmountable 12 costume changes.

Among the outfits were including a double-breasted black and gold pinstripe blazer dress, a white Vivienne Westwood dress and a stunning lilac gown complete with train.

Fans queued for hours – some as early as 3am – in order to be the first inside for the gig, which kicked off following pop-punk band Paramore’s set at exactly 7.18pm