PARAMORE: The ERAS Tour

16.08.2024 @ Wembley Stadium, London (92,000 Capacity)

Written Oct 2024

Paramore are absolute icons in the music industry, Starting out as a pop-punk band from Tennessee in 2004 with their debut album, the band has grown into an international favourite, experimenting into multiple other genres such as new wave/synth-pop in 2017 with their 5th album ‘After Laughter’ and post-punk/alternative in 2023 with their 6th album ‘This Is Why’. Williams & Taylor Swift have been friends for years, since both of their careers started (almost), and have stayed so throughout their crazy careers (Williams was featured on a Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) Bonus Track) so sharing a stage must be pretty special to them as well as their shared fans.

It was phenomenal to see one of my favourite bands of all time opening for one of my favourite artists of all time. As I'd seen Taylor before, I think I was a little more excited to see them than her. We missed out on tickets for their last UK tour back in 2023, but I now know that I won’t be making that mistake again! Seeing ‘Misery Business’ live was mind-blowing, and a truly amazing experience I’ll never forget. One of my favourite songs of theirs is a more acoustic-feeling rock ballad called ‘The only exception’. When the band played it, it was focused on Hayley & Taylor York (the band’s guitarist, and Hayley’s boyfriend) at the end of the catwalk with just her and his acoustic guitar, and it was a special moment that you can tell meant so much to them and everyone else in the stadium that knows how long it took for them to get here.

I also love that they kept their setlist like Taylor Swift’s and played songs from all/most of their albums, especially as they were an opener.  It was a real fan-service to those (like us) who had never seen them live before, despite being huge fans for a long time. Similarly to Swift, Paramore also had a surprise song within their set that they changed out/rotated every night - we got ‘Crave’ which is one of my favourites off of ‘This Is Why’ and it’s one that really shows off Hayley’s unique and insane vocal talent.

Paramore really were the perfect opener for this tour, they’re pros in the music industry, they know what they’re doing. My only regret was not going to see them sooner. Their songs are well-known in the general public enough to hype up the crowd, but still remain a special set for those that are fans.