Taylor Swift performs at NFL Tight End University benefit concert
The benefit concert was part of NFL’s Tight End University weekend long event in Nashville.
WASHINGTON — Taylor Swift returned to the stage in a surprise performance Tuesday night, playing to a very small crowd in Nashville. In her first public performance in six months, Swift joined country musician Kane Brown at a sold-out benefit concert for NFL’s Tight End University event.
Swift appeared unannounced at the Brooklyn Bowl, a 1,200-capacity venue and performed her single “Shake It Off.” The $35 tickets for the event had been available until Monday night, when they rapidly sold out after Swift was seen at a welcome event with her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
Brown had just finished performing two of his songs when he asked the crowd, “Do y’all care if I bring out a really really really really special guest?” Swift then came out and dedicated her performance to “our favorite players who are going to play, the tight ends.”
“See the one thing tight ends have in common with Nashville musicians is we’re all friends, right? So you know, we’re up there,” Swift told the crowd, pointing to the VIP section. “And we’re having some drinks…We were thinking like, ‘How loud could this place get?’”
The surprise show brought Swift back to Nashville, her hometown and inspiration for the country sound of some of her earlier work.
At the end of the performance, Swift thanked the backing band, revealing they “just figured out we were going to play that three minutes ago.”
The concert was part of the annual Tight End University gathering, an offseason event founded by San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle, with the help of Kelce and former Carolina Panthers player Greg Olsen.
This year’s multi-day training session in Nashville brought together more than 80 players for film study, drill practice and community-building. Only the benefit concert was open to the public.
The concert lineup also included Jordan Davis, Chase Rice, Sophia Scott, Graham Barham, Nico Moon and Ernest. All proceeds from the show benefited Kelce’s 87 & Running Foundation, Olsen’s Heartest Yard program and a charity of Kittle’s choosing. Last year’s event raised $900,000.
