Was Taylor Swift in New Orleans over the weekend? Yep, and nobody recognized her.

Taylor Swift will headline some of the nation’s largest stadiums when The Eras Tour launches in March. But over the weekend, she attended a far more intimate performance in New Orleans.

On Saturday, Swift caught the 6:15 p.m. set at Preservation Hall, the ancient traditional jazz shrine on St. Peter Street in the French Quarter that barely has room for 100 spectators.

Swift didn’t wear any sort of disguise, or even a hat, to hide her identity. Yet no one seemed to recognize her, possibly because nobody thought one of the world’s biggest pop stars would be hanging out at Preservation Hall on an unremarkable Saturday evening in December.

“It was completely random and unexpected,” said photographer Erika Goldring, who happened to be in the audience that night. “You never would expect to see Taylor Swift at Preservation Hall. Maybe during Jazz Fest, but not in December.”

Swift’s boyfriend, British actor Joe Alwyn, was with her. Alwyn has been in New Orleans for several weeks filming director Yorgos Lanthimes’ “And” with a cast that also includes Emma Stone and Willem Dafoe.

Producer and songwriter Jack Antonoff, a frequent Swift collaborator, was also reportedly in attendance at Pres Hall. Antonoff’s fiancee, actress Margaret Qualley, is part of the “And” cast.

Prior to Saturday’s show, Goldring spoke briefly with Swift in Preservation Hall’s back courtyard. She was struck by how down to earth the superstar was as they chatted about Harvey Nichols and other British department stores.

Swift also said that this was her first visit to Preservation Hall.

When Powell and company performed the song “My Bucket’s Got a Hole In It,” Swift made her way from the back row to the front bandstand and deposited multiple bills in the band’s tip jar.

And still, no one seemed to realize who she was.

“Nobody gasped,” Goldring said. “I didn’t get the sense that anybody put two and two together.

“It was refreshing that somebody who everyone should know could sit in a room with less than 100 people and not be bothered.”

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This story was originally published December 12, 2022 at 4:55 PM.