Taylor Swift’s bustling Eras tour continued Friday night in Tampa, Florida.
The 33-year-old singer-songwriter – returning to the stage for the first time since her split from Joe Alwyn – surprised fans with a performance by collaborator Aaron Dessner, 46.
The duo performed their song The Great War, which they collaborated on for the 2022 album Midnights.
For the touching rendition of the tune, Taylor was dressed in a plunging magenta dress with billowing ruffles.
Aaron joined her in a black shirt covered in white polka dots, black pants and white sneakers.
Guest: Taylor surprised fans with a performance by collaborator Aaron Dessner on Friday night in Tampa
Taylor, who moved to Nashville as a teenager to pursue music, wore a pair of matching magenta ankle boots covered in glitter.
Also covered in glitter was her microphone stand and the microphone itself.
The pop star’s long blonde hair flowed over one shoulder and fell down her back with bangs framing the face.
She looked ethereal as she performed alongside her boyfriend and colleague as they both strummed guitars.
The music artist typically looked beautiful in a flawless face of makeup, complete with a red lip.
Last month, Ed Sheeran sang Taylor’s praises for introducing him to Dessner, who is a member of the band The National.
Sheeran shared a black and white photo with his more than 40 million Instagram followers and penned a heartfelt anecdotal caption.
“So in 2021 I got a message from @taylorswift to put me in touch with @aarondessner,” he began.
Hit song: The duo performed their song The Great War, which they collaborated on for the 2022 album Midnights
It continued, “She thought he and I would make something great together.”
Then the Shape of You hitmaker said he was hesitant about meeting Aaron at first, but not because he didn’t believe in his talent.
“I have to be honest – I was a little hesitant to work with him so soon after the folklore and always because I felt that was Taylor’s thing and they were both so perfectly done,” he explained.
Ed continued, “But we met for dinner, talked about life and music, and he promised to send me some instrumentals that I could transcribe if inspiration struck me.
“As soon as I got them I loved the whole overall vibe of them and I knew I’d write them one day, but at the time I was finishing what I thought was Subtraction so I’d write them in a turn the back burner for a bit.’
The long story continued, “Then, as I said in my announcement post, a lot of things started happening in my personal life that I just felt the need to vent to songs and write about in a diary way.
“I had Aaron’s instrumentals, so I just started writing, and writing, and writing.”
The musician added: ‘He flew to the UK and we recorded it in a week by the sea, and it’s just been the most incredible process, and an album I’m so damn proud of.
“Thanks to Aaron and Jon for the insane amount of hard work and dedication you’ve put into this project, and for bringing out a side of me that I’ve put on hold for so long.”
He made sure to thank Taylor as he ended the caption by writing, “And of course, thanks to Swizzle, as always, you rock x.”
Her look: For the touching rendition of the tune, Taylor was dressed in a plunging magenta dress with billowing ruffles
Fashion-forward: Aaron joined her in a black shirt covered in white polka dots, black pants and white sneakers
Moving on: Friday’s show marked Taylor’s return to the stage for the first time since news of her split from Joe Alwyn broke
Swift referenced her reported split from longtime love Joe as she took the Raymond James Stadium stage.
“Is it just me or do we have a lot of catching up to do?” she asked in reference to her life making headlines.
During the performance, the star also brutally downplayed the meaning of her 2019 song Lover, which was reportedly written about Joe.
Before starting the song, she casually told the audience, “The song we’re going to play next, it’s just a love song, you know?”