Taylor Swift has just finished her first U.S. leg of her Eras Tour, where she has performed 52 times over the course of six months! During each performance, she has sung for nearly three hours, with songs from each of her albums or “eras.” Every concert is packed with entertainment with 44 songs each night and various outfit and scene changes. At every concert, Swift performs two unique “surprise songs,” with very few of these songs being repeated at other concerts.
Fans have turned the Eras Tour into an event much like the Superbowl, sitting at computers for hours at a time just to get a chance to purchase tickets. Some fans have even stood outside of stadiums, singing along in the parking lot to have a glimpse of what the concert is like. Many attendees put a lot of effort into their outfits, dressing up as their favorite Swift “era.” Fans have also taken to making and passing out friendship bracelets to other concert-goers, inspired by a line in the song “You’re on Your Own Kid” on Swift’s latest album Midnights where listeners are told, “So make the friendship bracelets / Take the moment and taste it.”
Some lucky Swifties and SNU students such as Lynlee Cummings, a sophomore biochemistry major, and Ivy Brennan, a freshman elementary education major, experienced their wildest dreams of attending one of her concerts. Cummings states, “It was so surreal getting to see an artist live that I’ve grown up listening to. Being surrounded by thousands of other fans that knew every word was truly something special.” Brennan shares the same sentiment saying that “Going to the eras tour was wild in the best possible ways! It is something everybody should experience even if they aren’t a fan of the music! I loved the first concert so much that I am going to see her when she performs in France!”
Swift’s vocals and theatrical performances are enchanting, but her songwriting is what makes her stand out amongst other artists. Many fans have even argued that Swift is the “Shakespeare of the music industry,” with several of her songs displaying intricate details through a large vocabulary.
On her last day touring in Los Angeles, California, she announced the rerecording of her first pop album “1989” in the eighth month of the year on the ninth day (8/9/23). Naturally, Swift did not just tell fans about the rerecorded album but made sure to throw several easter eggs into her performance, coming out on stage in various never-before-seen blue outfits symbolizing the album.
Swift is set to start her international tour in Mexico City on August 24, 2023. She will perform 72 more shows across the globe before heading back to the United States in 2024 for another nine shows. The tour is scheduled to end in November 2024 in Toronto, Ontario, but Swifties can only hope that it’s just like karma, coming back around.
Photo by Lynlee Cummings