The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde Shares Glowing Review of Recent Taylor Swift Show; Encourages Women to “Get Yourselves a Guitar”

It turns out Paul McCartney and Jon Bon Jovi weren’t the only Rock & Roll Hall of Famers who attended one of Taylor Swift’s recent concerts at Wembley Stadium in London. Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde took to her social media pages on Thursday, June 27, to share her experience seeing Swift’s Eras Tour performance recently.

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“I saw Taylor Swift (you may have heard of her) in concert the other day,” Hynde wrote in her message. “Just shows you what a girl with a guitar can do. … So, if you haven’t already – go out there and get yourselves a guitar. You’ll never be alone again as long as you have it by your side.”

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The 72-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer also commented about Swift’s concert, “Last time I loved a show that much was Aldous Harding. You remember me raving about it.” Harding is a New Zealand indie-folk singer/songwriter whom Hynde saw perform in London in April 2023 and whom she wrote gushingly about in a Facebook post.

Swift played Wembley Stadium on June 21, 22, and 23. McCartney and Bon Jovi both were spotted at the June 23 concert. It’s not clear which gig Hynde saw.

Fans React to Hynde’s Comments About Swift

Many of Hynde’s fans appreciated her positive words about Swift and her encouraging women to play guitar, with quite a few sharing their reactions in the comments section of her Instagram page.

“I love you supporting other women in music, Chrissie!” one fan wrote.

[RELATED: The Pretenders Announce US Tour in Summer 2024]

Another fan commented, “Love this, what legend and a powerhouse. I’m not a Taylor fan but there is no denying that girl has talent and she takes soo much abuse.”

A third wrote, “I bought my first guitar thanks to you and it’s probably the best decision I made in my life! So thank you a gazillion of times.”

About the Pretenders’ 2024 Tour Plans

Hynde began her message by saying, “It was great to get back on tour. We love the road!”

The Pretenders played their first three concerts of 2024 earlier in June, at the Music Legends Fest in Bilbao on June 14; in Valencia, Spain, on June 16; and at the 2024 Isle of Wight Festival in Newport, U.K., on June 21.

The band’s next show is scheduled for this Sunday, June 30, in Madrid. The Pretenders will wrap up their current series of European dates with a July 7 show in Werchter, Belgium.

After that, they’ll launch a U.S. tour on July 13 in Red Bank, New Jersey. The trek features a mix of headlining shows and dates opening for the Foo Fighters. The outing winds down with an August 18 gig supporting the Foos in Seattle.

The Pretenders also will tour Europe in September and October, with the trek wrapping up with 13 concerts in the U.K.

Tickets for the Pretenders’ tour dates are available now via various outlets, including StubHub.

The band currently is supporting its 2023 studio album, Relentless.

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Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images; Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images

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