There was a time when Iowans were treated to Taylor Swift performances for four years in a row.
This was long before she was a billionaire or named Time Person of the Year. It was before her stardom could command legions of fans to boost jewelry sales or increase NFL viewership.
But she was on the road to her major success.
In 2010, she won Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards for “Fearless.” She was 20 years old at the time and made history for being the youngest performer to win the award, according to the Grammys. And Rolling Stone named “Speak Now” as one of 50 of the greatest albums of all time from female performers.
Amid this period, Swift was bringing the music that resonated with so many youngsters — now adults — straight to Iowa.
Here’s a look back at some of Swift’s time in the Hawkeye State.
Here’s what Swift told her crowd of more than 14,000 at the Wells Fargo Arena on May 6, 2010.
“I love you like I love sparkly dresses,” she said, according to Des Moines Register archives. “I love you like I love burning ex-boyfriends’ pictures.”
Her performance was part of her “Fearless” tour, the same name as the album that is responsible for some of her most iconic hits including “You Belong With Me” and “Love Story.” She spent part of her show hugging fans, posing for photos and signing autographs.
Just over a year later, the pop star returned to Wells Fargo Arena on May 29, 2011 as part of her “Speak Now World Tour,” according to Register archives.
It wasn’t the last time Swift performed at the Wells Fargo Arena. She performed on Aug. 1, 2013 with opener Ed Sheeran and on Oct. 8, 2015 following the release of “1989.”
Just a few years after Wells Fargo Arena made its debut, country performer Keith Urban brought his “Escape Together World Tour” to Des Moines. Swift was one of several country acts, including Jason Aldean and Dierks Bentley, to open across his tour, CMT reported.
Iowans got to see Swift open on June 27, 2009, though Register archives described that by the time Swift’s “stint on the tour ended in August, it seemed like a de factor co-headlining tour due to her rising fame.”
In 2008, floods devastated much of the state, especially in Cedar Rapids. It resulted in more than 18,000 dislocated residents and 14% of the city was impacted by floodwaters, according to the city. Swift, with just her debut eponymous album under her belt, performed a show at what is now the Alliant Energy PowerHouse on Aug. 8, 2008. She then donated $100,000 to the American Red Cross, saying, “This was the first sold-out show the people of Cedar Rapids have had since the flood. We appreciate their support. They stood by me and now I want to stand by them,” according to a Red Cross report.
Picture this: A blonde-haired, teen singer strumming her guitar during an afternoon in 2006 at Sleepy Hollow Sports Park in Des Moines.
There are about 15 people there to hear her, and she performs about a half-dozen songs.
More:So, about that time Taylor Swift played a park shelter in Des Moines …
It’s startlingly different from the type of shows the superstar performs now, but at the time, Swift was just a girl with a guitar and an impressive talent for songwriting. There, she played “Tim McGraw.”
Paris Barraza is a trending and general assignment reporter at the Des Moines Register. Reach her at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza.
