The lights dim, the clock appears on a big screen, and the three minutes begin to count down. Dancers walk out, carrying tarps that look like the ones from preschool; you’re a kid again, hiding under the colorful rainbow fabric. The music starts to roll, and the fans hear “It’s been a long time coming back…” The concert begins.
Taylor Swift’s Eras tour began on March 17, 2023, but the rage started long before that: on Nov. 1, 2022, Taylor Swift announced her tour, marking the beginning of a fan-obsessed race. Swifties say Taylor’s music makes them feel. Laughter and tears are both components of Swift’s music, but most of all, listeners feel like they have something to turn to, something to calm them, and tickle their ears in the right place.
In the hard act of feeling, there comes no surprise the lengths fans go to to get tickets. Each concert pays Swift around $13 million, leaving her in total to have gained more than an astonishing $300 million.
Some audience members claim they remember the concert “All Too Well,” others “Forgot That It Existed.” Taylor Swift left her fans dumbfounded and emotional during and after her concerts.
Rosie Cassidy ’26 says she remembers every detail. She felt an abundance of serotonin, and was left feeling surreal, and even says “Taylor Swift made me feel seen.” Her music attracts fans not only with her fun and enthusiastic songs but also with her deep and meaningful ones that anyone can find a connection to.
In contrast, Gertie Lafferty ’24 says she does not remember much from the concert. She vividly depicts emotions from crying to laughing to screaming, but she was so emotional that she can not name too many details on the night itself. Lafferty states how grateful she was to see Taylor Swift on stage, for she not only heard some of her favorite music, but saw her idol who had grown just as she had. She remembers listening to Swift when she was younger, describing “watching her for ages.” Her first ever concerts were Swift’s; she remembers her in her “Wildest Dreams.”
In 2015 and 2018, Taylor Swift went on for earlier albums, Reputation and 1989. Now on her Eras Tour, Swifties have seen her evolve into the singer, person, and celebrity that she is today.
Citations:
‘Swiftonomics’: How Taylor Swift is Boosting the Economy (northeastern.edu)