Taylor Swift might not know ball but she does know that football players are gonna play, play, play.
The singer gave an unexpected serenade of “Shake It Off” at Tuesday night’s charity concert put on by Tight End University, an athletic program co-founded by her boyfriend, Travis Kelce. The flyer for the event stated there would be “surprise musical guests,” but it’s clear no one was expecting Swift to take part.
It happened toward the end of the night, when country artist Kane Brown was performing. Brown told the crowd he wanted to perform a “really cool” song for them, and the band began to play “Shake It Off.”
“Do you care if I bring out a really, really, really, really special guest?” Brown asked the crowd.
Swift then got on stage at Brooklyn Bowl Nashville with an acoustic guitar to the sound of raucous cheers. She told the crowd that one thing NFL tight ends have in common with Nashville, Tennessee, musicians is that they’re all friends.
“We were thinking, ‘How loud could this place get?’” Swift said before dedicating the song to their favorite players.
It was the first time Swift has performed live since obtaining the rights to her entire catalog. She announced last month that she had purchased the masters for her first six albums after a public battle with her former record label and executive Scooter Braun.
The performance took place in the middle of this year’s Tight End University, a three-day training event meant to help develop football players in the tight end position. Kelce co-founded the program alongside San Fransisco 49ers tight end George Kittle and Greg Olsen, who retired in 2021.
Tight End University’s charity concert — “Tight Ends & Friends” — is set to benefit various organizations, including Kelce’s nonprofit 87 and Running. Last year’s concert raised $900,000, according to The Tennessean.
