Why was Taylor Swift’s koi fish guitar removed from the Country Music Hall of Fame?

Out of all the instruments Taylor Swift used to own, there was nothing more iconic than the koi fish guitar. This unique-looking instrument belonged to the singer when she was 17 and was used during the Speak Now World Tour from 2011 to 2012. Eventually, the singer donated the guitar to the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville for fans to see.

Recently, people have noticed that the guitar is missing. Those who visited the Country Music Hall of Fame were met with a sign that said “artifact temporarily removed” with no explanation whatsoever. So, what happened to this iconic guitar? Was it stolen by a crazed fan? Is it being repaired? Or something else entirely?

Why was Taylor Swift’s koi fish guitar removed from the Country Music Hall of Fame?

The Country Music Hall and Fame and Museum houses over 500 musical instruments and nearly 2000 items from iconic country singers. According to the museum’s website, the goal is to document the history and culture of country music by preserving these items. Swift has donated numerous instruments throughout her career, and one of them is the koi fish guitar in question.

Unfortunately, the museum hasn’t given any statement about the removal of the guitar. The same can be said for Swift and her team, which is odd considering the guitar played a significant role in the singer’s early music career. At the same time, there haven’t been any police reports about a stolen instrument, so it’s safe to say that it’s in safe hands. Also, there were witnesses who saw the guitar being removed by museum staff.

This led to speculation that it has something to do with the Eras Tour and the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). At the moment, there haven’t been many songs from Speak Now on the set list for the Eras Tour, mostly because she doesn’t own the tracks yet. The same can be said for the surprise songs. But with the release of the re-recordings for Speak Now, there is a chance that more songs from this album will be performed on upcoming tour dates.

If this is the case, this could mean that lucky fans will see the singer use this iconic guitar in the near future. More specifically, a live surprise performance of ‘Long Live,’ featuring that guitar. At the moment, none of this has been confirmed. But it’s a pretty safe wager to assume that the singer asked for the instrument back for the remainder of the U.S. leg of the tour.