Aug. 30, 2026

Her First Performance as a Married Woman, New Endings for August and All Too Well, and the Green Dress Everyone Is Decoding

Show Notes
Transcript

Taylor Swift gave her first performance since marrying Travis Kelce, and she did it at the Grammy Museum's Icon Sessions — a twenty-year retrospective, a long conversation with Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr., and then a surprise mashup at the flower-painted piano from the Eras Tour. She wove "I Knew It, I Knew You" from the Toy Story 5 soundtrack into "August" and "All Too Well," and reworked both endings so they landed somewhere hopeful instead of where they usually land. Lyla gets into what that means, plus the green dress that has Swifties convinced her re-recorded debut is close.

🎹 The performance was recorded August 18 at the Clive Davis Theater and released on YouTube August 24. Fewer than 200 people were in the room.

💚 The dress is Dôen's Nelida in "green jasper" — 1930s-inspired, cascading ruffles, crimson floral at the shoulder. Fans and outlets have linked the shade to the seafoam gown from her "Teardrops on My Guitar" era.

📅 Her self-titled debut turns 20 on October 24. She confirmed in a May 2025 letter that the re-recording is finished. No release date has been announced.

🏀 Caitlin Clark debuts a "Friendship Bracelet" colorway of her Nike signature shoe, inspired by the Eras Tour trend.

🕊️ Nashville is still mourning Dolly Parton, and Taylor talked about feeling more loyal than ever to her country roots.

👗 Still no wedding dress photos.

Check out the new facebook chat page here. Come join the community! It's small now and we need your help growing.

Taylor Swift Today now has an official Facebook community! Connect with fellow Swifties to discuss all the incredible revelations from Taylor's New Heights appearance. Search "Taylor Swift Today" on Facebook or check out instagram and be sure to follow us to join thousands of fans worldwide. Whether you're analyzing lyrics, sharing concert memories, or just celebrating Taylor's new era, our community is the perfect place to connect with people who love Taylor as much as you do.

WEBVTT

1
00:00:03.830 --> 00:00:12.369
Hey everyone, I'm Lila and welcome back to Taylor Swift Today.

2
00:00:12.390 --> 00:00:15.570
It is a big music week, which honestly feels good

3
00:00:15.759 --> 00:00:18.940
after the heaviness of last week. Taylor stepped on stage

4
00:00:18.960 --> 00:00:20.940
for the very first time as a married woman and

5
00:00:20.960 --> 00:00:23.679
she turned it into something magical. There are fresh clues

6
00:00:23.739 --> 00:00:26.379
that new music might be right around the corner. The

7
00:00:26.420 --> 00:00:28.699
whole music world is still wrapping its arms around the

8
00:00:28.739 --> 00:00:32.409
loss of Dolly Parton. And a certain basketball superstar paid

9
00:00:32.469 --> 00:00:36.149
Taylor the sweetest tribute. Lots to get into, so let's go.

10
00:00:37.189 --> 00:00:40.990
Let's start with the moment that made every Swifty gasp.

11
00:00:41.759 --> 00:00:44.600
Taylor made her first public performance since the wedding, and

12
00:00:44.640 --> 00:00:46.799
she did it at the Grammy Museum as part of

13
00:00:46.859 --> 00:00:50.740
a special event called the Icon Sessions, a 20-year retrospective

14
00:00:50.840 --> 00:00:54.729
on her entire career. First, she sat down for a long,

15
00:00:54.810 --> 00:00:58.490
thoughtful conversation about her songwriting, and then she gave the

16
00:00:58.549 --> 00:01:03.170
room a surprise performance, and not just any performance. She

17
00:01:03.250 --> 00:01:06.120
sat down at that piano, the one covered in painted

18
00:01:06.159 --> 00:01:09.340
flowers that fans know by heart from the surprise song

19
00:01:09.400 --> 00:01:14.719
section of the Heiress Tour, and she played a mashup

20
00:01:14.840 --> 00:01:17.870
of three songs from three completely different chapters of her life.

21
00:01:18.780 --> 00:01:21.719
She wove together her brand new song from the Toy

22
00:01:21.760 --> 00:01:25.290
Story 5 soundtrack, I Knew It, I Knew You, with

23
00:01:25.329 --> 00:01:29.950
her folklore heartbreak ballad, August, and her 10-minute masterpiece, All

24
00:01:30.030 --> 00:01:33.930
Too Well. Now, if you know those songs, you know

25
00:01:33.969 --> 00:01:37.719
that two of them are about longing and heartbreak. But

26
00:01:38.140 --> 00:01:40.579
here is the detail that got me right in the chest.

27
00:01:41.180 --> 00:01:45.500
Taylor reworked the endings. Instead of letting August and All

28
00:01:45.519 --> 00:01:48.420
Too Well finish in that familiar ache, She guided them

29
00:01:48.480 --> 00:01:52.180
somewhere new, somewhere hopeful, landing on a happier note that

30
00:01:52.219 --> 00:01:54.799
seemed to quietly nod to where her life is right now.

31
00:01:56.040 --> 00:02:01.019
As a newlywed, as someone who finally got her happy ending,

32
00:02:01.760 --> 00:02:04.319
think about what that means. Two of the saddest, most

33
00:02:04.400 --> 00:02:07.739
beloved songs in her entire catalog, the ones that made

34
00:02:07.840 --> 00:02:10.240
all of us cry in our cars, and she stood there,

35
00:02:10.259 --> 00:02:13.120
a married woman, and gave them new endings full of hope.

36
00:02:13.979 --> 00:02:18.069
That is not just a performance. That is a woman

37
00:02:18.150 --> 00:02:22.189
telling you through her own music that the story turned

38
00:02:22.250 --> 00:02:22.889
out okay.

39
00:02:23.530 --> 00:02:25.310
I am not crying. You're crying.

40
00:02:26.150 --> 00:02:28.500
And here is where it gets even more exciting for

41
00:02:28.539 --> 00:02:32.039
the music detectives among us because that whole appearance was

42
00:02:32.280 --> 00:02:34.300
absolutely stuffed with clues.

43
00:02:34.840 --> 00:02:36.219
Let's talk about the dress.

44
00:02:37.120 --> 00:02:40.969
Taylor wore a flowy green gown with romantic cascading ruffles

45
00:02:41.409 --> 00:02:42.210
and a little.

46
00:02:42.090 --> 00:02:43.830
Floral corsage on one shoulder.

47
00:02:44.990 --> 00:02:50.960
And Swifties immediately lost their minds because that soft, feminine,

48
00:02:51.139 --> 00:02:54.580
green look pointed straight back to her very first era.

49
00:02:55.439 --> 00:03:00.080
Her 2006 debut album, fans have been calling it the

50
00:03:00.180 --> 00:03:02.620
most debut dress to ever debut.

51
00:03:03.159 --> 00:03:03.990
Why does that matter?

52
00:03:04.069 --> 00:03:07.650
Because Taylor has already told us she re-recorded her debut album,

53
00:03:08.009 --> 00:03:11.050
and the 20th anniversary of that record lands on October 24th.

54
00:03:12.330 --> 00:03:14.650
put that together with the fact that landmarks like the

55
00:03:14.689 --> 00:03:18.030
Empire State Building and a tower in Dallas mysteriously glowed

56
00:03:18.069 --> 00:03:22.060
green around the same time with official accounts posting cryptic

57
00:03:22.080 --> 00:03:28.360
little messages. And, well, Swifties are absolutely convinced that Taylor Swift,

58
00:03:28.400 --> 00:03:34.030
Taylor's version, her re-recorded debut, could be coming very soon. Now,

59
00:03:34.270 --> 00:03:37.669
nothing is confirmed. Taylor has not announced a thing. But

60
00:03:37.710 --> 00:03:40.139
if there is one thing we have learned... It is

61
00:03:40.180 --> 00:03:43.560
that she does not do anything by accident. Those green

62
00:03:43.599 --> 00:03:46.810
dominoes are lined up for a reason. And it does

63
00:03:46.870 --> 00:03:49.770
not stop there because on top of the debut album buzz,

64
00:03:49.930 --> 00:03:53.009
multiple reports this week say Taylor is deep into writing

65
00:03:53.050 --> 00:03:58.129
brand new music too. A source described her as incredibly

66
00:03:58.189 --> 00:04:02.789
inspired and really excited about what is taking shape. And

67
00:04:02.909 --> 00:04:07.479
in that Grammy Museum conversation, she got emotional talking about

68
00:04:07.520 --> 00:04:10.939
her roots, saying that the people who shaped who she

69
00:04:11.159 --> 00:04:13.620
is as an artist and a writer, all of that

70
00:04:13.659 --> 00:04:16.879
happened in Nashville, and that she feels more loyal to

71
00:04:16.920 --> 00:04:19.980
her country origins than ever. So we might have two

72
00:04:20.019 --> 00:04:23.899
things brewing at once, her re-recorded debut and a whole

73
00:04:23.939 --> 00:04:27.160
new album down the line. When it rains Taylor music,

74
00:04:27.300 --> 00:04:30.060
it pours. When we come back, that.

75
00:04:29.939 --> 00:04:30.939
Mention of Nashville.

76
00:04:31.480 --> 00:04:34.370
leads us somewhere tender because the music world is still

77
00:04:34.449 --> 00:04:36.149
saying goodbye to a legend.

78
00:04:36.730 --> 00:04:53.910
Stay with me. Welcome back. So Taylor talking about her Nashville.

79
00:04:53.449 --> 00:05:00.009
Roots feels especially poignant this week because the city and

80
00:05:00.029 --> 00:05:03.449
the whole music world is still mourning the loss of

81
00:05:03.500 --> 00:05:07.579
Dolly Parton. As we talked about last week, Dolly passed

82
00:05:07.620 --> 00:05:10.300
away at 80 and the tributes have not stopped pouring

83
00:05:10.420 --> 00:05:14.079
in since. Fellow artists, friends and fans have all been

84
00:05:14.120 --> 00:05:17.939
sharing their love Sabrina Carpenter honored her by singing a

85
00:05:17.959 --> 00:05:21.399
piece of Dolly's most famous song. Stars across every genre

86
00:05:21.420 --> 00:05:24.519
have been posting memories. The grief is real because the

87
00:05:24.540 --> 00:05:28.750
love was real. And there is something quietly beautiful about

88
00:05:28.790 --> 00:05:31.629
the timing of it all. In the very same week

89
00:05:31.649 --> 00:05:35.389
that we lost the ultimate Nashville songwriter, the woman who

90
00:05:35.449 --> 00:05:37.850
proved a country girl with a guitar could conquer the

91
00:05:37.910 --> 00:05:41.670
entire world, we have Taylor Swift talking about returning to

92
00:05:41.740 --> 00:05:45.480
her own country roots, feeling more tied to them than ever.

93
00:05:45.879 --> 00:05:48.279
It is almost like the torch is being carried forward

94
00:05:48.360 --> 00:05:51.879
in real time. Dolly cleared that path decades ago, and

95
00:05:51.939 --> 00:05:54.339
now the artist who grew up idolizing her is circling

96
00:05:54.379 --> 00:05:57.920
back to honor exactly where she came from. If you

97
00:05:57.959 --> 00:06:00.560
are looking for a sign that Dolly's spirit lives on,

98
00:06:01.279 --> 00:06:06.329
that is it. Her influence is literally shaping what Taylor

99
00:06:06.370 --> 00:06:10.329
does next. And if Taylor really is leaning back toward

100
00:06:10.370 --> 00:06:13.569
country music, well, there could not be a more fitting

101
00:06:13.629 --> 00:06:17.319
way to keep Dolly's legacy alive. I have a feeling

102
00:06:17.360 --> 00:06:18.740
Dolly would be tickled.

103
00:06:18.500 --> 00:06:19.319
Pink about all of it.

104
00:06:20.079 --> 00:06:21.860
Okay, let's lift the mood with one of the most

105
00:06:21.959 --> 00:06:25.139
wholesome stories of the week because Taylor's influence showed up

106
00:06:25.180 --> 00:06:28.040
in a place you might not expect. On the basketball court,

107
00:06:29.050 --> 00:06:34.139
WNBA superstar Kaitlyn Clark, who is a proud, self-declared Swifty,

108
00:06:34.639 --> 00:06:38.439
just debuted a brand new colorway of her Nike signature sneaker,

109
00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:42.740
and she calls it the Friendship Bracelet Edition. It is

110
00:06:42.819 --> 00:06:46.339
directly inspired by Taylor and the whole friendship bracelet trend

111
00:06:46.399 --> 00:06:50.170
from the Arras Tour. The shoe has soft blush laces

112
00:06:50.269 --> 00:06:53.769
threaded with little beaded charms and spelling out Caitlyn's initials

113
00:06:53.829 --> 00:06:56.949
and her jersey number, just like the bracelet Swifties trade

114
00:06:57.029 --> 00:06:57.889
at Taylor's shows.

115
00:06:58.449 --> 00:06:59.889
It is honestly adorable.

116
00:07:00.810 --> 00:07:05.860
And these two have a genuinely sweet history. A couple

117
00:07:05.879 --> 00:07:09.699
of years back, Taylor sent Caitlyn several bags of ERA's

118
00:07:09.759 --> 00:07:13.209
tour merch, along with a handwritten note telling her she

119
00:07:13.230 --> 00:07:16.930
was inspiring to watch from afar. And they have hung

120
00:07:16.990 --> 00:07:19.790
out in person, too, spotted chatting away in a VIP

121
00:07:19.810 --> 00:07:22.930
suite at Chiefs games, cheering on Travis together, two of

122
00:07:22.970 --> 00:07:26.129
the most influential women in their fields lifting each other up.

123
00:07:26.610 --> 00:07:30.480
When those sneakers officially hit shelves, you already know the

124
00:07:30.509 --> 00:07:32.600
Swifties and the basketball fans are going to lose it.

125
00:07:33.300 --> 00:07:36.759
And a quick note on the newlyweds themselves, because reports

126
00:07:36.800 --> 00:07:39.459
this week say Taylor and Travis are settling into married

127
00:07:39.500 --> 00:07:42.360
life in Kansas City for football season and figuring out

128
00:07:42.439 --> 00:07:45.779
their new normal. Sources say they have made a real

129
00:07:45.860 --> 00:07:49.569
point of protecting their relationship, with one insider claiming they

130
00:07:49.610 --> 00:07:52.069
have a rule that they will not let distance become,

131
00:07:52.310 --> 00:07:55.709
in their words, a third person in the marriage. Little

132
00:07:55.750 --> 00:07:59.579
check-in calls, staying connected, even when both of their careers

133
00:07:59.899 --> 00:08:04.029
get hectic. It is sweet and it is smart. Take

134
00:08:04.050 --> 00:08:09.209
that as unconfirmed relationship source chatter, but the sentiment tracks.

135
00:08:08.870 --> 00:08:10.689
With everything we have seen from these two.

136
00:08:11.269 --> 00:08:13.990
And of course, before we go, the update you know

137
00:08:14.069 --> 00:08:18.769
is coming, the dress, still no official wedding photos. We

138
00:08:18.850 --> 00:08:22.689
are now nearly two months out and Taylor has still

139
00:08:22.769 --> 00:08:26.310
not shared a single image. At this point, it has

140
00:08:26.350 --> 00:08:30.379
basically become the most anticipated post in internet history, but

141
00:08:30.600 --> 00:08:33.929
everything points to the same thing. When she is ready

142
00:08:34.450 --> 00:08:37.509
on her own perfect timing, it will come straight from her.

143
00:08:38.379 --> 00:08:41.480
And knowing the week she just had dropping Easter eggs

144
00:08:41.500 --> 00:08:43.700
left and right, I would keep those notifications on if

145
00:08:43.779 --> 00:08:44.259
I were you.

146
00:08:45.159 --> 00:08:46.039
So there is your week.

147
00:08:46.539 --> 00:08:49.539
Taylor gave her saddest songs, happy new endings, teased what

148
00:08:49.580 --> 00:08:52.620
might be her re-recorded debut, honored her roots as the

149
00:08:52.679 --> 00:08:58.120
world-honored Dolly, and inspired a basketball star's sneakers. A really lovely,

150
00:08:58.679 --> 00:09:00.480
music-filled week.

151
00:09:01.100 --> 00:09:02.899
That is our show. I'm Lila.

152
00:09:03.240 --> 00:09:05.980
Two things for you this week. First, tell me in

153
00:09:06.019 --> 00:09:10.000
the Spotify comments, what are you more excited for, Taylor's

154
00:09:10.240 --> 00:09:13.490
re-recorded debut album or a brand new record? I need

155
00:09:13.500 --> 00:09:17.860
to know where you stand. And second, do not forget,

156
00:09:19.019 --> 00:09:21.799
VMA voting is still open and Taylor is one win

157
00:09:21.879 --> 00:09:25.440
away from making history on September 27th. So go get

158
00:09:25.480 --> 00:09:29.259
those votes in. Turn your notifications on because between the

159
00:09:29.299 --> 00:09:31.409
music clues in that wedding dress, something is going to

160
00:09:31.419 --> 00:09:34.549
break soon. Find us on Facebook, too. Just search Taylor

161
00:09:34.590 --> 00:09:37.889
Swift today and share this with the Swifty who is

162
00:09:37.970 --> 00:09:41.090
already deep in a debut TV theory spiral.

163
00:09:41.169 --> 00:09:43.450
You know the one. Thanks so much for hanging out

164
00:09:43.490 --> 00:09:43.990
with me today.

165
00:09:44.009 --> 00:09:45.909
I'm Lila, and I will see you next time.