Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour 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 of 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.
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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 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 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.
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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.
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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.
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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 a shock, but seeing him rock through a rendition of “Can I Sit Next to You, Girl” — the first single in AC/DC’s history — wold 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, 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 the 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 the highlights, though the decade admittedly saw the band’s popularity end towards the end. No matter, because AC/DC could kickoff their comeback era — around the release of 1990’s The Razors Edge — with the powerful classic “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 the loudest and most exciting concerts ever staged.
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Genesis
Admittedly, this is the least likely to happen of the five hypothetical eras tours proposed here, given the band’s farewell and Phil Collins‘ ailing health, but it’d also be the most eclectic. The first portion would feature Peter Gabriel behind the mic, delivering material for their formative prog rock years. Considering Gabriel has largely abandoned songs from his Genesis days, hearing the dynamic singer delivering tunes from Foxtrot, Selling England by the Pound and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway would be remarkable.
From there, Gabriel would exit and allow Collins to take center stage, ushering in the next era of Genesis’ history. Material here would be culled from A Trick of the Tail and Wind & Wuthering, a transitional period that found the band figuring out its next direction.
Just as 1978’s …And Then There Were Three… ushered in a new, pop-focused period for Genesis, its songs would welcome the next phase of their eras-like performance. Tunes like “Follow You Follow Me” and “Many Too Many” would give way to tracks like “Turn It on Again” (from Duke) and the title track from 1981’s Abacab. This would set the audience up for the emphatic, hit-centric run to come.
Genesis’ next era would focus on their world-beating peak, largely made up of material from 1983 self-titled LP and 1986’s Invisible Touch. Timeless tracks would come hard and fast, including “Mama,” “That’s All,” “Invisible Touch,” “Throwing It All Away” and “Land of Confusion.”
Genesis would give some attention to their final album by welcoming singer Ray Wilson up for a handful of tunes. Still, it would be an anticlimactic end to an otherwise engrossing evening. As such, we’d propose a powerful finale featuring all three of the band’s lead singers.
