Jason Kelce had the time of his life with daughters Wyatt and Ellie at their first Taylor Swift concert — despite what viral photos might suggest.
The retired NFL star, 36, and his wife, Kylie Kelce, took their two eldest daughters, Wyatt, 5, and Ellie, 3, to the 34-year-old pop star’s show at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Friday, October 18. (The couple, who tied the knot in April 2018, are also parents of daughter Bennett, 20 months.)
During the Wednesday, October 23, episode of their “New Heights” podcast, Travis Kelce asked his older brother about the family’s big night out, confessing that he had “all the FOMO in the world” not being at the show with them. (Donna Kelce, was also spotted in attendance with her eldest son, daughter-in-law and granddaughters.)
“I did not take a nap,” Jason insisted as Travis, 35, teased him about falling asleep during “the greatest show that’s ever been on stage.”
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Jason agreed that Swift puts on “the greatest show,” comparing his experience in Miami to being in the audience at two Eras concerts in London this summer. “This Miami show was incredible,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s the fact that we’re back in the U.S. — I think the London crowd was incredible — but the rain and everything, dude, it was on another level.”
Jason said he texted his brother “halfway through” the concert to rave about Swift “killing it” in the rain. “When Reputation came on and she came out in the new outfit and the rain was coming down, the place could’ve f—ing erupted. I mean, it did.”
Jason and his family were spotted enjoying Swift’s concert in multiple fan photos and videos posted via social media. In one clip, Jason held one of the girl’s hands as they walked through a crowd of fans at the venue after purchasing some merch. He was also seen dancing to “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” and taking a break from the fanfare in his seat, with some fans joking that he fell asleep during the show.
The former Philadelphia Eagles star gave “New Heights” listeners some “background” into the now-viral photo on Wednesday. “Kylie’s holding Ellie, Ellie was just with me,” he explained. “We were dancing and I was sitting down so I’m on the same level with her. We’re out in the middle of the open right here and we brought a bunch of people to the show … It isn’t like a box that’s enclosed. So I’m like, ‘OK, I’m gonna sit down.’”
Jason noted that not having a more private suite in the stadium made it feel like being “in a fishbowl,” saying, “Everybody’s staring at me. So I just sit down … and I’m just feeling it. I’m tapping my thigh and I’m just in the moment listening to the song. And then all of a sudden, I go on Twitter and I see this f—ing picture and I’m like, ‘Dude, what the f—? Like, I’m not even sleeping and I can prove it to you.’”
Travis joked that his brother was “just feeling the groove” as Swift sang. Jason even brought up his past as a jazz musician, explaining that he would often close his eyes while playing his instrument.
“The mist of the rain had just started to get into my face … and I’m just sitting here and I’m in the moment,” he recalled.
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This marked the first time that Donna, Wyatt and Ellie were in the audience for one of Swift’s Eras Tour concerts since Travis began dating the singer in the summer of 2023. Jason and Kylie, for their part, previously watched two of Swift’s London concerts from the VIP tent in June.
At the time, Jason had nothing but kind words to share about his first experience at Swift’s show.
“It was insanely impressive. There’s something, like, obviously Taylor’s an amazing singer-songwriter but then to be able to go out there and be a performer at that level … Dude, if I did what she did for one song, I would have to change my clothes,” Jason said during a June episode of the podcast.
Jason went on to explain how the fans influenced his perception of the performance.
“It was an awesome experience, obviously the Swifties make it very memorable,” he continued. “Everyone’s so into it, they’re singing all the songs. There’s two concerts [I’ve seen] that have been like that — that one and the first time I saw Bruce Springsteen live. But it was equal kind of level of these insane fandoms that love these artists so much that they know all the songs.”
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As Jason pointed out, one of his favorite moments was when Swift gave a young fan her hat while singing “22” during the Red set. “Dude, I’ve never cried at a f—king concert and I was literally tearing up watching those little girls,” he told Travis at the time.
Bringing his daughters to the show made him appreciate Swift’s talents even more. “Everyone had a good time … The show’s incredible, Miami was another level of it,” he gushed on Wednesday, telling Swift to “keep killing it” as she wraps up her final leg of tour. “Shout-out to everyone that went [with us] … It was an awesome time down there, man.”
