The Eras Effect: How Taylor Swift’s Opening Acts, From Gracie Abrams to Sabrina Carpenter, Have Blown Up
Taylor Swift changes lives: fact. Just ask the lucky acts who were invited to open for her on the Eras Tour; a year ago, many of them were up and coming artists playing in small venues, now some of them are household names selling out huge arenas themselves.
Move over Willy Wonka; being invited to perform on stage before Swift is the real golden ticket, exposing your talents to millions of potential fans across the world, and Swift knows it: she loves hand-picking acts who she’s a fan of herself and, naturally, many of them are talented female singer-songwriters too.
Us decided to take a look at the soaring careers of some of the acts Swift has sprinkled glitter on at the Eras …
Sabrina Carpenter
It’s hard to remember a time when Carpenter wasn’t absolutely everywhere but, this time last year, the Disney alum (dropped her album sixth, Short ‘n’ Sweet, on Friday, August 23) wasn’t quite the household name she is now. Carpenter first opened for Swift in Mexico last August, before jetting to Australia and Asia with her too. Since then, she’s seen her own tour sell out in a matter of minutes, her song “Please Please Please” hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100, while "Espresso" has been widely decreed “the song of the summer.” We’re confident that Carpenter would be a big star even without the support of Swift, but she’s super-grateful for all the extra attention that Eras brought her way, writing via Instagram that she “will cherish this taybrina era (and all the eras) till the end of time.” Cute.
Gracie Abrams
If Swift is queen of the world right now, Abrams is one of her ladies in waiting. She only released her debut album, Good Riddance, in 2023, but, thanks to Swift, has now performed at some of the biggest stadiums in the US and has been named second on Forbes’ 2024 “30 under 30” list. As well as being part of the Eras line-up last year, she’s also the main opening act for Swift on the forthcoming, final US leg, with her brand of “bedroom pop” music proving a hit with Swift’s zillions of fans. Perhaps Swift can also give her tips on navigating high-profile relationships: she’s currently rumored to be dating actor Paul Mescal, but has said she finds all the attention a little “spooky.”
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Holly Humberstone
Humberstone, 24, is another rising talent who was hand-picked by Swift to be part of Eras, opening for her at Wembley Stadium in London, England. “I love that she champions girls and new music and I’m so inspired by everyone else who opened on the other nights,” Humberstone told Elle. “I’m so grateful to Taylor for having me and for being so supportive and kind. Taylor’s show was, of course, an absolute spectacle and I am still floating on a cloud. I remember getting up there and realizing that there was actually no reason to be nervous as Taylor’s fans made me feel so welcome and I decided to embrace the experience and just enjoy every second of it.”
In the past, Humberstone has said she loves “female writers who overshare” — the perfect match!
Maisie Peters
“I don’t know how it gets better than this!” said British singer-songwriter Peters when she was asked to be part of Eras. The 24 year-old is no stranger to A-list attention — she’s previously performed with Ed Sheeran — but Eras has taken her to stratospheric levels: she performed at London’s 90,000-capacity Wembley Stadium and got a huge show of support from Swift herself. “She is amazing, she is absolutely incredible, crushed it on stage, love her songwriting so much!” gushed Swift. You can’t pay for endorsement like that on LinkedIn.
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Suki Waterhouse
Better known as a model — and the partner of Robert Pattinson, of course — back in 2016, Waterhouse’s debut single failed to even dent the top 200 in her native UK. So, the Eras Tour was a huge opportunity to take her cute indie pop to a whole stadium full of enthusiastic Swifties. “The last time I was at Wembley I was dancing my a– off at the Reputation tour!” Waterhouse wrote via Instagram. “Never did I think the next time I’d be here would be opening for my favourite artist with my friends and family in the crowd ??.” With her own US tour scheduled to kick off in October, we have a feeling Waterhouse won’t struggle to chart his time; many of the dates have already sold out.
Phoebe Bridgers
Swifties with a thing for the evermore and folklore eras are the perfect audience for Bridgers, a big name on the indie scene for a while, but not the kind of star who could sell out huge concerts in her own right — until her association with Swift. After wowing the crowds at many of the U.S. Eras dates in 2023, she went on to win three Grammys in 2024. (She and Swift recorded the duet "Nothin' New" on 2021's Red [Taylor's Version].)The fangirling goes both ways when it comes to these two. Swift has enthused about how Bridgers “juxtaposes conflicting themes like humor and depression, romance and nihilism, a tender vocal delivery with a razor-sharp box-cutter lyric” while Bridgers says Swift is “such a deep, wise human being, and has not sacrificed fun at all.”
Paramore
Unlike many of the more up and coming artists who’ve conquered the Eras, the rock band from Franklin, Tennessee, have actually been in the music business longer than Swift herself, releasing their first album in 2005 (Swift’s self-titled debut dropped a year later.) They’re often a staple at alternative rock festivals across the globe, but joining forces with Swift has given them exposure to a younger, more pop-loving audience. In fact, after opening for Swift during the entirety of her European Eras leg, three of their albums have surged in the UK album charts. And it’s all down to Swift’s mom Andrea, who introduced frontwoman Hayley Williams to Swift at a Grammy’s party when they were both starting out, sparking a strong, supportive friendship.
The best thing about all this? It’s evidence that it’s a fantastic time to be a female singer-songwriter — and that’s been a long time coming.
