Travis Kelce has spent years building Tight End University into a marquee event for NFL tight ends, and this year, the spotlight briefly shifted to a familiar face from outside football. Enter pop superstar Taylor Swift, who surprised attendees by joining the festivities in a way only she could.
Taylor Swift Surprises Tight End University with Stage Performance
Swift took the stage at Brooklyn Bowl in Nashville and performed “Shake It Off” alongside country singer Kane Brown. It marked her first live performance since wrapping up her record-breaking Eras Tour, and she dedicated the song to “our favorite players who are going to play, and these are the tight ends.”
Kelce, who is heading into his 13th season with the Kansas City Chiefs, explained how the unexpected performance came together.
“We’re in Nashville, she grew up in Nashville. She moved there when she was younger,” Travis said Wednesday on his “New Heights” podcast with his brother, former Philadelphia Eagles standout Jason Kelce.
“We had this plan for a while that we were gonna have some fun with the tight ends, and especially tight ends and friends, all the evening events. I won’t say when the idea came up, but when we were there at tight ends and friends and we knew that there was a professional like Kane Brown, who could just, he could figure it out.
“He’s a pro, he’s been on stage a million times,” Travis said. “Tay just kinda went up to him and the band and just was like, ‘Hey, if you guys are down, I’ll go up there, play a song and see if we can pop the roof off this place.’”
TEU took their game to New Heights this year
NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!!! https://t.co/bJMkab7qEi pic.twitter.com/HB0WuUqOzJ
— New Heights (@newheightshow) July 2, 2025
Kelce praised Swift’s ability to connect with people. The pair have become one of sports’ most talked-about couples since she started attending his games during the 2023 season.
“She’s so good just with everybody,” Travis said. “Just people and making people feel comfortable and absolutely rocked the stage yet again. It was awesome, man.”
Jason also shared his thoughts on the performance. “She killed it,” Jason said. “She shook it off for sure. She shook down the roof, that’s for damn sure.”
According to Travis, Swift wrote out musical notes for the band to prepare for the song. “And then just went out there without practicing and was pitch-perfect and just killed it,” Travis said.
Travis Kelce and Swift also posed for a photo with fellow tight ends George Kittle and Greg Olsen, the latter of whom is retired, during the event.