Florence Welch, the enigmatic frontwoman of Florence + The Machine, recently shared her unique experience performing alongside pop superstar Taylor Swift on The Eras Tour. Despite being accustomed to commanding massive festival stages with her own band, Welch admitted she was unprepared for the meticulously orchestrated spectacle of Swift’s tour. Her surprising duet performance of “Florida!!!” during Swift’s final night at London’s iconic Wembley Stadium in August 2024 is a highlight recounted in Swift’s new Disney+ docuseries, “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour – The End of an Era.”

Welch, known for her dynamic and often improvisational stage presence, initially found herself overwhelmed by the tour's rigorous demands. In the docuseries, she recalls her shock upon being presented with specific choreography: “I have performed on big stages, but I thought I’d just run around because that’s what I do at my own shows. When I got there, they were like, ‘This is your choreography.’ I was like, ‘No, no, no, wait, you must be confused. I don’t do this! I’m gonna f— this up!’” Despite her apprehension, Welch ultimately nailed her cues, delivering an emotionally resonant performance that helped conclude one of Swift’s five successful Wembley nights without a hitch.

The sheer magnitude of Swift’s global phenomenon left even a seasoned performer like Welch feeling starstruck. She vividly described the moment she ascended onto the stage via a lift, likening it to an extraterrestrial experience. “The feeling of coming up for the first time in that lift, it was kind of like landing on Mars, ‘cause I’d never seen the stage lit up before,” Welch explained. She further articulated the profound shift from observing a monumental cultural event from afar to suddenly being an integral part of it, describing the experience as both “wild, but it was really fun and completely terrifying.”

Adding to her awe, Welch confessed that her perception of Taylor Swift momentarily shifted during the performance. While she knows Swift as a “very cozy person” and a friend, seeing her transform into a “pop deity” at the heart of such a massive production briefly scrambled her brain. “Taylor is my friend, and I know her as this very cozy person, and I came out of that lift and I was like, ‘Oh my God, it’s f—ing Taylor Swift!’” she humorously recounted.

The new docuseries, which debuted its first two episodes on Disney+, offers an exclusive glimpse behind the curtains of The Eras Tour. It reveals unseen moments, including intimate backstage rehearsal sessions with Ed Sheeran and personal phone calls with Travis Kelce, which Swift playfully compares to a “vitamin drip.” Swift herself articulates the core philosophy behind her tour in the series, stating, “I want to overserve the fans. That was my main goal.” Fans eager for more behind-the-scenes insights can now stream “The End of an Era” on Disney+.