Taylor Swift performs “Clara Bow” in front of Stevie Nicks in Dublin

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Taylor Swift and Stevie Nicks reunited in Dublin on Sunday (June 30), with the Eras Tour headliner dedicating the acoustic portion of the evening to the legendary Fleetwood Mac singer.

With Nick’s presence, it was the perfect opportunity for Swift to perform The “Tortured Poets” section‘s “Clara Bow” live for the very first time; in the second verse of “Clara Bow” she calls Nicks by name and sings, “You look like Stevie Nicks/ 1975, the hair and the lips/ The crowd goes crazy under her fingertips/ Half moonlight, a total eclipse.”

“I’ve never played this song live before,” Swift noted before “Clara Bow,” one of two acoustic performances at her concert at Aviva Stadium on Sunday, her third appearance in Ireland.

“The reason I want to play this tonight is because a friend of mine is here watching the show,” Swift hinted. She praised that friend for paving the way for her, saying she is “one of the reasons I can do what I can do” – and that she has been a helping hand to many other female artists.

Swift added: “She’s one of my heroes. I could tell her any secret and she would never tell anyone.”

“I’m talking about Stevie Nicks,” Swift announced, sparking thunderous applause from the audience.

Swift played guitar and reworked lyrics from “The Lucky One” – her 2012 Red Song with a theme similar to “Clara Bow” – until the live debut of “Clara Bow” during her surprise song set.

Swift then played “You’re on Your Own, Kid” from her 2022 midnight album, on piano. At Sunday’s show, there was an unspoken reason for her song choice: It has personal meaning for Nicks.

In May 2023, Nicks thanked Swift for writing the song, saying it helped her mourn the late Christine McVie, Nicks’ dear friend and bandmate who passed away in November 2022. “Thank you to Taylor Swift for doing me a favor and writing a song called ‘You’re on Your Own, Kid.’ It expresses the sadness that I feel,” she said onstage last year.

“In all our 47 years, we never had a fight,” Nicks said of her deep connection with McVie. “We were both on our own, kids. We always were. And now I have to learn to be on my own, kid, all by myself. You helped me do that. Thank you.”

The rock icon was first spotted by fans at Swift’s show at Dublin Stadium on Sunday, walking to and from the VIP tent set up for Swift’s guests.

Nicks, who is in town for her own tour (with a date in Dublin on July 3), is directly connected to Swift’s The “Tortured Poets” sectionwhich is at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart for the tenth consecutive year. The singer-songwriter penned a poem “for T – and me…” that appeared on the album cover of physical copies of the set, Swift’s eleventh studio album.

The poem reads, among other things: “She looked back from her future/ And shed a few tears/ He looked into his past/ And actually felt fear/ For both of them/ The answers – would never be/ Always clear/ Don’t ask questions now/ Do that later/ She brings joy/ He brings Shakespeare/ It’s almost a tragedy/ She says/ Don’t put me in danger/ Do not endanger me.”

In the next verse, Nicks writes: “He really can’t answer her/ He’s afraid of her/ He’s hiding from her/ And he knows – that he’s hurting her.”

More than 14 years ago, at the 2010 Grammy Awards, Swift and Nicks sang a medley of Fleetwood Mac’s 1976 hit “Rhiannon” and Swift’s 2009 hit “You Belong With Me.”

Watch video clips from Swift’s performance for Nicks in Dublin below.