Why Houston is one of Taylor Swift’s favorite places to perform

Houston may not have been the first stop of Taylor Swift’s 2023 The Eras Tour, but the Bayou City still holds a special place in her heart. During the first night of her three sold-out concerts at NRG Stadium (Taylor’s Version) on Friday, the Anti-Hero singer-songwriter explained to her tens of thousands of fans why she loves to perform in Houston.

“We love coming to play for you,” Swift told the cheering crowd. “We’ve been playing for you for nearly 20 years.” Swift then revealed that her connections to Houston run deep. “You always treat us so nice,” she said. “You treat us like Houston is my mom’s hometown, which it is. You treat us like this is where my parents got married, which it is.”

The pop megastar’s mother, Andrea Swift, grew up in Houston. She attended Memorial High School and graduated from the University of Houston. On Friday, Andrea even inspired the City of Houston to light up City Hall in a Lavender Haze starting at dusk for all three nights of Swift’s shows this weekend. Lavender Haze is a song written by Swift and is included in her tenth studio album Midnights (2022).

Andrea, a former marketing manager at an advertising agency, married Scott Swift, a stockbroker-turned-vice-president for Merrill Lynch, in 1988. They welcomed Taylor to the world on Dec. 13, 1989

Swift last performed in Houston back in 2018 for her Reputation Stadium Tour at NRG. During the show, she also referenced her connection to the city. “Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve been hearing from my mom about this magical place called Houston, Texas where she grew up,” Swift told the crowd at the time. “This is the place where you can find some of the loudest crowds you can see or hear in the entire world.”