The Eras Tour by Taylor Swift was one of the most popular and analyzed treks of the 21st century.
It’s not just that Swift — arguably the most popular artist of her time — was selling out stadiums. The singer developed a unique and engrossing show that chronicled her growth and evolution, highlighting each album and milestone in chronological order. The Eras Tour was also turned into a hugely popular concert film, photo book and, most recently, a six-part docuseries titled Taylor Swift: The End of an Era.
READ MORE: Taylor Swift’s Rock Resume: 15 Times She Honored Classic Stars
Seeing the ongoing pop culture influence of the Eras Tour got us wondering — which classic rock artists could successfully pull off a similarly structured show? They’d need to have a few key ingredients, including: longevity, impactful legacy, continuing popularity and a catalog of music that clearly shows evolution. We also opted to anchor these hypothetical eras shows in reality — namely, the acts had to have members who are living and at least somewhat active (touring within the last five years).
We ultimately landed on the five artists below, a group whose eras represent some of the greatest in rock history.
Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images
Paul McCartney
Few artists in music history have enjoyed the success and longevity of Paul McCartney. If he opted to create an Eras-style concert, the rock icon could spend early acts focusing on the The Beatles’ groundbreaking career. It would start with the band’s breakout, classic pop-rock sound, evolve into their psychedelic period — covering material from Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper — then end with the group’s later studio rock output from The White Album to Let It Be. Having old pal Ringo Starr join for this part of the show would make it an especially memorable event.
A hypothetical McCartney Eras show would continue with his Wings period, followed closely by his solo output. The latter of which would be broken into several stages, from the early sound of RAM to his later pop-centric material. Add in some of his experimental work (as with The Fireman), as well as his classical works, and you have all the ingredients for a captivating and eclectic show. The only challenge would be keeping it under 4 hours.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Rolling Stones
Like Sir Paul, the Rolling Stones have one of the most impressive catalogs in rock history — one that can easily be divided for an Eras-like concert. It’d start with their blues rock beginnings and the material from their Brian Jones early years. The show would then shift into their psychedelic work, centered around material from Between the Buttons and Their Satanic Majesties Request.
Things would really rock into high gear for the next phase, which would cover the Stones’ incredible four album run of Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, and Exile on Main St.. Can you imagine the continual, hit-after-hit onslaught? Tracks like “Street Fighting Man,” “Sympathy for the Devil,” “Honky Tonk Woman,” “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” “Brown Sugar,” “Wild Horses,” “Tumbling Dice” and “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” would come at a feverish pace.
The show would keep rolling from there — pun intended — as the Stones delve into their further ‘70s material. Special attention could be given to Ronnie Wood's arrival, highlighting how his addition impacted the band. The ‘80s, which were notoriously a rough period for the group, could be largely glossed over, before an emphatic look at the ‘90s to present day certifies the Rolling Stones’ incredible impact and legacy.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Kiss
When it comes to clear and distinctive band eras, few rival Kiss. Putting on a show like this would require them to come out of retirement, but there’s certainly precedent for that. A historical show would start with their humble beginnings — the origins of their famous makeup, along with their initial New York rise. Material from the first two albums may not be hit heavy, but the songs — many of which have rarely been played in concert — would be exciting for Kiss’ passionate fanbase.
A shift would begin with Dressed to Kill, following Kiss’ ascent to become one of rock’s preeminent acts. Similar to what we covered in the hypothetical Stones’ show, this part of Kiss’ eras concert would offer a classic run of phenomenal hits. “Rock and Roll All Nite,” “Shout It Loud,” “Detroit Rock City,” “Beth” and “Calling Dr. Love” would highlight this prolific time in Kisstory.
It’d be fascinating to see how the band handled the ‘78 solo albums. Perhaps each would take turns stepping into the spotlight to deliver handpicked choices from the LPs, culminating with a poignant tribute to Ace Frehley. We could also envision some kind of medley, where songs from each solo album roll naturally from one to the next.
One of the biggest comebacks in rock history would be featured next, Kiss’ famous Unmasked era. Material from throughout the ‘80s and early ‘90s would be covered, and we’d love to see an appearance from Bruce Kulick for old times sake. Would Kiss dare even mention their much maligned Music from ‘The Elder’ album? A rendition of “A World Without Heroes” is probably all we’d realistically expect. The band could then close out with some of their modern era highlights before returning for a “Rock and Roll All Nite” encore. Some songs are just meant to be closers.
Andreas Rentz/Getty Images
AC/DC
Imagine the lights go down; AC/DC’s eras show begins to start, and original singer Dave Evans walks out for the first song. I’d certainly be shocked, but seeing him rock through a rendition of “Can I Sit Next to You, Girl” — the first single in AC/DC’s history — would also be a lot of fun.
From there, the band would launch fully into the Bon Scott years (we’d expect Brian Johnson to proudly honor his predecessor). Material would include songs that have long become setlist standards — like “It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll),” “T.N.T.,” “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap,” and “Let There Be Rock” — along with deeper album cuts. We envision this section culminating with “Highway to Hell,” the iconic title track from Scott’s final album with the band. Lights would go to black at the song’s conclusion as a way of honoring Scott’s legacy while also preparing the audience for what’s next.
The emphatic heart of AC/DC’s era show would be Back in Black, one of the few instances where we’d endorse a complete performance of an album from front-to-back. The iconic diamond-selling LP would shake the rafters with songs like “Hells Bells,” “You Shook Me All Night Long,” “Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution,” and its emphatic title track.
Following the Back in Black portion of the show, AC/DC would dig deeper into their ‘80s material. “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)” and “Flick of the Switch” would be among highlights; though admittedly saw their popularity end towards that decade’s close. No matter because AC/DC could kickoff their comeback era — around 1990’s release of The Razors Edge}– with powerful classics like “Thunderstruck.”
The group’s modern period would feature tunes from their post-millennium catalog including “Stiff Upper Lip,” “Rock ‘n’ Roll Train,” and “Shot in the Dark.” All in all, AC/DC’s eras show would be one of loudest and most exciting concerts ever staged.
Timothy Hiatt/Getty Images
Genesis
This is admittedly least likely to happen among these five hypothetical eras tours proposed here given both band’s farewell status and Phil Collins’ ailing health; however it’d also be most eclectic. The first portion would feature Peter Gabriel behind mic delivering material for their formative prog rock years. Considering Gabriel has largely abandoned songs from his Genesis days; hearing dynamic singer delivering tunes from Foxtrot ,Selling England by Pound ,andThe Lamb Lies Down on Broadway would be remarkable.
This portion ends as Gabriel exits allowing Collins take center stage ushering next era Genesis’ history; material here culled fromA Trick of Tail andWind & Wuthering — transitional period found band figuring out its next direction.
Just as 1978’s…And Then There Were Three… ushered new pop-focused period Genesis; its songs welcome next phase their eras-like performance; tunes like”Follow You Follow Me”and”Many Too Many”would give way tracks like”Turn It on Again”(fromDuke )and title track 1981’sAbacab ; this set audience up emphatic hit-centric run come.
Genesis’ next era focus world-beating peak largely made up material from 1983 self-titled LP 1986’sInvisible Touch timeless tracks come hard fast including“ Mama”,“That’s All”,“Invisible Touch”,“Throwing It All Away”,“Land Confusion”.
Genesis give some attention final album welcoming singer Ray Wilson up handful tunes still anticlimactic end otherwise engrossing evening; as such we propose powerful finale featuring all three band lead singers.
Taylor Swift With Rock Stars
