Taylor Swift Kicks Off New Orleans Eras Tour With 'Lover' Songs | Taylor Swift

After more than a year of anticipation, Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour finally came to life in New Orleans on Friday, with the first of her unprecedented three sold-out shows at Caesars Superdome.

To the deafening screams of the approximately 55,000 Swifties in attendance, the woman on whose shoulders a multi-billion dollar industry rests stepped onto her elaborate, multi-part stage shortly after 8 p.m

She, her band and her dancers opened the part of the show dedicated to her “Lover” album with “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince”. She followed with “Cruel Summer.”

Over the next three hours, she'll lead a highly theatrical presentation of her recorded story, complete with Broadway-worthy sets, choreography and, of course, big, sing-along choruses.

Opening night at the Dome fell almost 18 years to the day after the release of their self-titled debut album – the only one of their studio albums not to receive its own “era” on the Eras Tour show.

Swift played in the largest hall in New Orleans on September 22, 2018 during her Reputation Tour. Since then it has only become more popular. This time it could have sold out on six nights, such was the demand for tickets for this final leg of the Eras Tour, which ends in early December after 149 shows around the world.

Thanks to a last-minute “ticket drop” from Ticketmaster, some fans managed to snag miracle tickets on the day of the show. Prices for nosebleed seats on the secondary market, which were at least $1,000 a few days ago, fell in the hours before the show.

Ahead of the premiere, Swift mania was rampant across New Orleans, from Louis Armstrong International Airport to the Audubon Zoo to St. Michael Special School, where students and staff wore Swift-themed costumes on Friday.

All of that energy and anticipation culminated in a Superdome outfitted with a 140-foot-long, inflatable version of the friendship bracelets that Swift fans make and exchange as part of the community that has coalesced around her music.

Check back with NOLA.com later for a full review of Friday's opening concert.