Fearless Tour


The Fearless Tour was the debut concert tour by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, launched in support of her second studio album 'Fearless'. It began on April 23, 2009, in Evansville, Indiana and concluded on July 10, 2010, in Cavendish, Canada. Kellie Pickler, Gloriana, and Justin Bieber were supporting acts for the tour.
During the tour, Swift performed with guests such as John Mayer, Katy Perry, and Faith Hill. It grossed $63,705,590 from 89 reported shows and an audience of 1,138,977. Several shows were recorded and released for a concert series, Journey to Fearless, on The Hub; it aired from October 22 to 24, 2010.

Pre-tour activity

Prior to the launch of the tour, Swift played several shows in the US, including two sold-out performances at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in early 2009. Swift also played several dates in the UK and Australia, including two shows at the Shepherd's Bush Empire in London.
Also, in the midst of her own tour, Swift began opening shows in select cities for Keith Urban on his Escape Together World Tour 2009.

Background and development

The tour was announced on January 29, 2009, via her official website. The initial press release announced that Swift would visit 54 cities in 39 states and provinces in the United States and Canada. Joining her on the tour would be a new country music group, Gloriana, as well as former American Idol contestant, Kellie Pickler.
The tour kicked off in Evansville, Indiana on April 23, 2009 at Roberts Municipal Stadium. In honor of the kickoff of the sold-out tour, Swift was presented the key to the city of Evansville and the City Council President declared Thursday, April 23, 2009 Taylor Swift Day.
The tour featured a theatrical presentation of graphics, sets and visual elements all designed by Swift. The show runs nearly 90 minutes and showcases Swift playing five different guitars as well as the piano. The show featured multiple costume changes and a fairy-tale castle illuminated by more than a million lumens of light.
In late June, a new tour date was announced for November 23 at the Wembley Arena in London. However it became apparent that neither Kellie Pickler nor Gloriana would be joining her on the UK part of the tour. Taylor Swift announced another date in the UK at the Manchester Evening News Arena on November 24. This was the final and second tour date in the UK. The shows at Wembley and Manchester will be the only two concerts for the Fearless Tour in Europe. It was announced later that singer Justin Bieber would join Swift on the two UK dates. While performing at Wembley Arena, Bieber broke his foot while he performed the opening lines of "One Time", but still finished the song. Despite his injury, Bieber confirmed that he would still perform in Manchester with Swift the following day, although the Wembley concert was cut short as he could not perform the encore. Bieber then went on to perform at the Manchester performance with an encore, he sang "With You" a cover of the original version from Chris Brown. Following a 10-minute applause after she had sung "Tim McGraw", Swift told the Manchester audience "Everytime I hear the word Manchester, I won't be able to stop smiling...I love you!". According to a German magazine, Swift was supposed to play three shows in Germany. However, tickets for those concerts never went on sale.
On September 30, it was announced that Swift would return to Australia in February 2010 to play another series of concerts, but now in arenas. On October 8, it was announced that the tour would be extended through June 2, 2010 to include 37 additional shows in North America. It has been confirmed that Justin Bieber will be performing at the Gillette Stadium on June 5, 2010 with Swift.

Concert synopsis

The show opens with the stage decorated as a school hallway. Swift appears at the top of the stage, in a band uniform, and sings "You Belong With Me". During the climax of the song, dancers remove Swift's outfit to reveal a sparkling, silver dress. "Our Song" and "Tell Me Why" are performed next, and then Swift gives a speech about her high school crush and his girlfriend. The backdrops of the stage turn into a library where Swift performs "Teardrops on My Guitar". She then sings "Fearless" and exits for a costume change.
The next segment begins with Swift, in a red dress, and a male dancer on red armchairs where she sings "Forever & Always". Swift leaves and changes into a teal gown and crosses the audience during a performance of "Hey Stephen". She goes to a B-stage where "Fifteen" and "Tim McGraw" are sung with a guitar. The act ends with Swift returning to the main stage, singing "White Horse".
The third act begins with Swift and her dancers in Renaissance attire during a performance of "Love Story", she then changes into a white gown and sings "The Way I Loved You". The next segment sees Swift, in a purple mini-dress, at a piano, which is at the top of the stage. There she performs "You're Not Sorry", with elements of Justin Timberlake's "What Goes Around...Comes Around", as her dancers, in black, perform acrobats on the bottom stage. "Picture to Burn" and "Change" are sung next, the former with fire on the backdrops, and Swift exits for a final costume change.
During the encore, she appears on top of the stage again, in a black gown, performing "I'm Only Me When I'm With You" with her supporting acts Gloriana and Kellie Pickler; however, during shows in 2010, Swift sang "Today Was a Fairytale" alone. She then gives a speech about an ex who cheated on her and sings "Should've Said No". During the performance, fake rain comes from the roof of the stage and Swift closes the show by going backstage as curtains are drawn.

Supporting acts

The tour featured three different supporting acts across three continents. Gloriana toured with Swift primarily in North America and Oceania, Kellie Pickler played on the North American leg, and Justin Bieber performed on the United Kingdom and Foxboro, Massachusetts dates. The following represents the set lists of the supporting acts.

Set list

This set list is from the April 23, 2009 show in Evansville, Indiana and is not intended to represent all dates throughout the tour.
  1. "You Belong with Me"
  2. "Our Song"
  3. "Tell Me Why"
  4. "Teardrops on My Guitar"
  5. "Fearless"
  6. "Forever & Always"
  7. "Hey Stephen"
  8. "Fifteen"
  9. "Tim McGraw"
  10. "White Horse"
  11. "Love Story"
  12. "The Way I Loved You"
  13. "You're Not Sorry"
  14. "Picture to Burn"
  15. "Change"
Encore
  2. "I'm Only Me When I'm With You"
  3. "Should've Said No"

    Tour dates

Record sellouts

Tickets for the first shows for the Fearless Tour went on sale in early February 2009 and sold-out almost instantly. On February 6, 2009, tickets went on sale for the May 22 date at Los Angeles’ Staples Center and sold out in two minutes. Tickets for several dates and venues, including Madison Square Garden, went on sale the following week and sold out in a record of one minute. Swift is also one of the only artists to have sold out the Save Mart Center in less than ten minutes.