Singer celebrates arrival of First Two Pages of Frankenstein will first-ever performance of Evermore collaboration
Taylor Swift performed her Evermore track “Coney Island” live for the first time Friday as The Eras Tour reached Atlanta.
As Swift noted onstage at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Friday also marked the release date for the National’s new album First Two Pages of Frankenstein; the National features one of Swift’s go-to collaborators Aaron Dessner, who recently appeared onstage with Swift.
“Any time I’m gonna talk about or even reference another artist, I feel inclined to tell you that if they’re not here, they’re not here. No one else is here. You are stuck with me. It’s only me,” Swift prefaced Friday during the “Surprise Songs” portion of her show.
“But I am gonna talk about another artist. I just feel like, you know, stadiums are huge and it’s important to really communicate, so that’s what I’m doing. I’m gonna talk about another artist who has an album that just came out that is so incredible. The National just had an album come out. This band has influenced me beyond my ability to verbalize how much they’ve influenced me. Just lyrically, their ability to set a scene, their ability to tell a story. And obviously, Aaron Dessner is in the National and he has completely changed my life.”
Dessner served as the primary collaborator on Swift’s Folklore and Evermore, while also contributing to a handful of Midnights bonus tracks. “Coney Island” is the lone collaboration between Swift and the National that also credits the band as a featured artist; Swift returned the favor by appearing on the National’s just-released LP.
“I was lucky enough to be able to write a song with them for their new album, which is called the First Two Pages of Frankenstein. Check it out, stream it, buy it on vinyl. I love them so much. They’ve been so kind to me,” Swift added. “So, I’m not gonna sing the song that we have on this new album — it’s called ‘The Alcott’ — check that out, though. But I am gonna sing ‘Coney Island.’”
Friday also saw the live premiere of the Fearless-era track “Other Side of the Door,” 15 years after the track’s release:
