NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Many of the friendship bracelets given to Taylor Swift on the Eras Tour are on display at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
“This is a one-of-a-kind, really special celebration of Taylor and the Eras Tour,” says Lisa Purcell, the executive vice president of external affairs at the museum. “There are more than a thousand friendship bracelets from Taylor’s collection shared by her fans.”
Surrounding the three rows of beaded jewelry are posters included in the VIP boxes purchased by fans ahead of the concert.
“Like her, we are so in touch with the fans of the music and the history of the music,” Purcell says.
The museum’s Taylor Swift Education Center displays different memorabilia from the singer every few months. Swift’s team works closely with the museum. The most recent installation includes a BCBG Max Azria silk handkerchief dress from Swift’s debut era, complementary bronze boots, the banjo she decorated with permanent marker for her 2012 Grammys performance of “Mean” and a custom-built Koa guitar with her name imprinted on the fingerboard.
Across from the vitrine of Swift artifacts is a printed copy of a Thomas Hart Benton mural called “The Sources of Country Music.” The original hangs in the Country Music Hall of Fame Rotunda and depicts the roots of the music genre.
“Taylor has such a neat origin,” Purcell says. “And her origin story is tied to country music. She plays many of these instruments. The Taylor Swift Education Center gave us an opportunity to highlight that.”
The center opened in 2013 after Swift donated to the museum’s capital campaign. The two-story interior houses classrooms, youth art installations, interactive galleries and learning labs.
Outside the education center and in the museum, there are several exhibits with more Swift memorabilia including a guitar of Swarovski crystal rhinestones, a Roberto Cavalli gold-fringe dress worn by the singer on her “Speak Now World Tour,” a vintage lace dress and matching skirt from her “Speak Now World Tour” and the “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” portrait from her “I Can See You” music video.
Swift’s team kept all the bracelets given to the star during the 83 shows of her massive tour. Many were exchanged during the song “22,” when a chosen fan gives Swift a bracelet in exchange for a couture hat.
Swift has 69 shows left in her colossal tour. She heads to Paris, France, on May 9, and fans are curious to see if she will incorporate a new set into her three-plus-hour show for “The Tortured Poets Department.”
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