Nearly 20 years after “Tim McGraw” introduced Taylor Swift to country music fans, she’s looking back at the Nashville roots that started it all.

Taylor Swift may have become one of the biggest pop stars in the world, but nearly two decades into her career, she says her connection to country music is actually getting stronger.

 

During The Icon Sessions with Taylor Swift: A 20-Year Retrospective at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, Taylor sat down with Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. to look back at her evolution as an artist and songwriter.

 

And when the conversation turned to where everything started, Taylor made it clear Nashville still holds an important place in her career.

“I love my country roots more and more the further along this path I get,” Taylor said, adding that she feels increasingly tied and loyal to the people who helped shape her as both an artist and songwriter. 

 

She also reflected on being a teenager trying to convince the country music industry that stories about her own high-school experiences could connect with listeners. Her songwriting instincts ultimately became one of the defining parts of her career, even as her music moved increasingly toward pop. 

Taylor even remembered responding to criticism that she wasn’t “country enough” during her early career. That helped inspire the sound of “Mean” from Speak Now, with Taylor recalling wanting to lean heavily into traditional country instrumentation including plenty of banjo. 

 

The night also included a little Eras Tour nostalgia.

 

Taylor sat down at the flower-covered piano she took around the world on the Eras Tour and performed a surprise mashup of “I Knew It, I Knew You,” “August” and “All Too Well.” She explained that the songs were connected by the idea of memories and reliving important moments from your life. 

 

Twenty years after arriving with a song called “Tim McGraw,” Taylor’s career has travelled a long way from Nashville but judging by her latest comments, she hasn’t forgotten where it started.