Inside Taylor Swift’s Speak Now: Treasures from the World Tour, the exhibit!

Hello Taylor Nation!

Here at the Swift Agency, one guy that never thought he’d do an Inside Speak Now article ever again, we always adore the chance to be proven wrong. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum opens the exhibit Taylor Swift: Speak Now – Treasures from the World Tour on June 6. However, aside from a media preview on June 4 there was a chance for members for a sneak peek on June 5. I’ve added the legends provided by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum since I thought you’d wanted to know what the Sparkly Dressed has written about each vignette. Here we go!

(Credit: TheSwiftAgency.com)

The Story Of Us / Mine(Taylor’s dress designed by Roberto Cavalli)

We used toaster elevators to pop the dancers up into the air during this song. I wanted the characters to fly into the air and appear onstage during different verses of the song to act out the different conflicts and arguments that take place during a breakup.

- Taylor Swift

(Credit: TheSwiftAgency.com)

Enchanted

(Taylor’s dress designed by Reem Acra)

I wanted some of my dancers to be able to showcase their ballet abilities. We created this beautiful dance at the beginning of the song which also gave me time to get changed backstage into this dress.

- Taylor Swift

(Credit: TheSwiftAgency.com)

Long Live

(Taylor’s dress designed by Jenny Packham)

This song was written about the feeling I would get on the Fearless Tour when I was backstage and listening to the crowd, knowing that I was there with my band about ready to go out and put on a show.

- Taylor Swift

(Credit: TheSwiftAgency.com)

Better Than Revenge

(Taylor’s dress designed by Jenny Packham)

Coming out of “Back To December”, I had to quickly take off the long gown, revealing this short red dress and boots. Then I’d run up the bridge in the dark in order to appear standing in the middle of the bridge as soon as this song started with ‘Now go stand in the corner and think about what you did’. I always loved the crowd’s reaction to the beginning of this song.

- Taylor Swift

(Credit: TheSwiftAgency.com)

Mean / Our Song

(Taylor’s dress is a vintage reproduction)

I wanted this scene to look like the front porch of a farm. I created elements during the show that remind me of different time periods. I wanted this to take me back to the Great Depression when musicians would sit around on a front porch, jamming to give them hope.

- Taylor Swift

(Credit: TheSwiftAgency.com)

Speak Now

(Taylor’s dress is a vintage reproduction)

The church scene was the most elaborate scene in the show. We tried to make it seem like a real wedding ceremony with pews, a minister and a bridezilla. The whole story played out with the groom and me running away at the end of the song, exiting the stage. Then I’d make my way out into crowd.

- Taylor Swift

(Credit: TheSwiftAgency.com)

Fearless

(no dress details)

At the back of the arena we positioned a secondary stage with a lit up tree. The base of the tree had a bench around it where I’d sit with my guitar and play acoustic. I wanted it to look like a whimsical, beautifully colored tree. The tree was made of fiberglass and turned different colors.

- Taylor Swift

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(Credit: TheSwiftAgency.com)

Back To December

(Taylor’s dress designed by Marchesa)

I love that bridge. We tried to recreate one that I had seen in Central Park, NYC. I wanted it to play a pivotal role in this number, so I had the string section line the rail of the bridge and play their violins while I was on piano just below.

- Taylor Swift

(Credit: TheSwiftAgency.com)

Haunted

(Taylor’s dress by Susan Hilferty)

Huge bells were used in “Haunted” to create this dark, stormy looking world. The trees, which were all lit up for “Enchanted”, turn dark and eery. Little does the crowd know, there are aerialists hanging inside the bells. They drop down hanging from silks in the middle of the song.

- Taylor Swift

(Credit: TheSwiftAgency.com)

Love Story

(Taylor’s dress designed by Valentino)

I knew this song had to have a special moment. The year before on Fearless, we had a big castle on stage. So for this tour I wanted to go to the audience. So we designed a Juliet balcony that would fly over the audience and get me as close to the fans as possible in the balcony seats.

- Taylor Swift

Of course I should mention, there are a lot more pictures than these, I’ll put the whole collection in the gallery when I get some time to do that.

On other news, Amos Heller is playing with Old Dominion at the 12th and Porter in Nashville on Saturday at 10:30pm. It’s a bit of an issue for me since it’s middle of the CMA Fest’s nightly performances. At least I’m confident I will see him with Tequila Sunrise on June 15 at Cleveland’s House of Blues.

Coming up in the Calendar!

• June 6: The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum opens the exhibit Taylor Swift: Speak Now – Treasures from the World Tour. It will include dozens of costumes, instruments, set pieces and props from the Speak Now World Tour. The exhibit runs from June 6 through November 4, 2012.
• June 6: The 2012 CMT Music Awards will air live from Nashville on CMT. Taylor Swift is nominated for Video of the Year and Collaborative Video of the Year both along with the Civil Wars for Safe And Sound and Female Video of the Year for Ours. You can vote now.
• June 7: Mallary Hope’s Fan Club Party at Puckett’s Restaurant happens from 2pm to 4pm.
• June 7-10: The 2012 CMA Music Festival takes place from June 7 to June 10. Taylor Swift is not in the lineup so far.

(Source: Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum)