Something unexpected in the crowd caught Taylor Swift‘s eye during her performance of “Marjorie” in Nashville Friday night (May 5).
Dozens of printed photos of Swift’s grandmother Marjorie, who inspired the personal Evermore song, were held up by fans near the mainstage for Swift to see. The thoughtful tribute to Swift’s grandmother left her emotional in front of an audience of 70,000 at the first of three shows at the city’s Nissan Stadium this weekend.
Her mouth wide open at the sight of Marjorie’s portrait being displayed on The Eras Tour, Swift stayed composed enough to continue to sing: “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’re still around.” She then smiled and put her hand to her heart as the song concluded.
The vast audience also lit up the stadium, from floor seats to nosebleeds, with their phone lights throughout Swift’s performance of “Marjorie” like they had the weekend before at her Atlanta stop.
“What are you trying to do to me?” she asked the crowd as she sat down at the piano in Nashville. “Oh my god, that was so beautiful.”
“So that song, Marjorie, that was a song that I wrote about my mom’s mom, my grandmother,” she said, giving the backstory to anyone in attendance who might not have known. “She was a singer too. And she passed away when I was 13.”
“I just know that my mom, right now, is just like bawling and has been for the solid last five-and-a-half minutes, and I love you guys so much. That was so meaningful and so special,” said Swift.
The project was led by a fan who passed out hundreds of Marjorie printouts to Swifties in her section at the concert. She documented her experience on TikTok.
“I couldn’t be more proud of making this crazy idea into reality. Lugging 300 copies around a crowded stadium wasn’t ideal, but for her I’d do it, ‘a million little times’!” TikTok user Jessica Morris (@auntie_hero) wrote of “Project Marjorie” following Friday night’s concert.
The May 5 Nashville concert was special for other reasons, too. It was here that Swift finally announced the release date of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), and she debuted the Red vault track “Nothing New” live with Phoebe Bridgers. Fans also noted that The 1975‘s Matty Healy was at Nissan Stadium watching the show.
See Swift’s reaction to the Marjorie moment on the TikTok account of the fan behind the idea, and in another fan clip below.
This story originally appeared on Billboard
