“The first 10 years was kind of a dude-fest at most of our shows, but that’s changed a lot”
The National have said that Taylor Swift fans are “bewildered” by their shows, while the demographic of their own fans is becoming younger. Watch our video interview with the band above.
Frontman Matt Berninger and bassist Scott Devendorf caught up with NME at Glastonbury over the weekend, where they played a five-star set. NME said: “It’s one thing to have artfully crafted the perfect setlist for such an occasion, but it’s another to have the ability to play each and every song like it could be the last one. When the finale does come with Berninger and the crowd all choked up for the devastating ‘About Today’, we leave knowing that they couldn’t have done more.”
The National have also collaborated with Swift previously. They featured on ‘Coney Island’, a track from ‘Evermore’, while Swift appeared on ‘The Alcott’, from the band’s 2023 album ‘First Two Pages of Frankenstein’.
The National’s guitarist, Aaron Dessner, has worked with Swift a lot over the last few years – they worked together for the first time on her 2020 album ‘Folklore’, and again on ‘Evermore’ and ‘The Tortured Poets Department’.
NME asked if The National could show up at one of Swift’s ‘Eras’ tour shows, but Berninger said that it wasn’t likely. “I don’t think so. It is fun – that whole bridge has been a really, really fruitful thing for our whole band, not just Aaron,” he said. “Obviously, Aaron’s been having such a great time and making so much great stuff with her, and the Taylor Swift bridge has been there for a long time. But no, we’re not.”
He continued: “We get asked that a lot. We see a lot of Taylor Swift fans coming to shows and being bewildered by the first 25 minutes or so. We’ve been blessed with demographics that are across the spectrum.
“Then 10 or 15 years ago, a lot of younger people started coming – more and more women. The first 10 years was kind of a dude-fest at most of our shows, but that’s changed a lot. At our shows we have all kinds of old friends and they’re always different.”
It’s not the first time Berninger has discussed working with Swift. In September last year, the singer told NME, “The Taylor thing was super organic. We’ve known her for a long time and obviously Aaron has been doing so much amazing stuff with her. I wrote ‘The Alcott’ with my wife Carin in mind, Aaron sent it to Taylor and she added her own perspective on it and wrote all her parts to it. It was a true duet where she heard that and inhabited the character that I was singing about – which is almost always Carin.”
He also spoke about her “incredible generosity” to her fans, and revealed that he stayed up until midnight for the release of her 2022 album ‘Midnights’. He added, “She makes an event out of a record and a work of art and it hardly ever happens anymore. The Beatles would pull that off and I’m absolutely in awe of her ability to bring so much excitement and joy to so many people. It’s in my home and I love it.”
The National’s upcoming UK tour dates, including a huge show at Crystal Palace Park, are below. Visit here for tickets and more information.
JULY
3 – Cardiff, UK – Cardiff Castle
4 – Manchester, UK – Castlefield Bowl
5 – London, UK – Crystal Palace Park
11 – Edinburgh, UK – Edinburgh Castle
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