The Eras Tour

Recently breaking the record for the highest attendance at a concert for a female artist, Taylor Swift continues to travel throughout the US performing her sixth concert, “The Eras Tour”. With ticket prices reaching up to $2k, approximately 70k people attend and dress up in their favorite ‘era’ or album attire. This includes, dresses, skirts, boots, and jewels, etc. Fans were inspired by a specific lyric in a song by Taylor, “You’re On Your Own, Kid” that mentions friendship bracelets. Soon a trend was created where people would wear these bracelets and they would trade them with others at the concert. This concert creates an emotional but also a very lively experience for the crowds, and I am here to share my own experience and opinion on attending my first concert, The Eras Tour.

The one I was attending was at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on May 14^th, Mother’s Day. I did not know what to expect since this was my first concert, but knowing my first concert would be seeing Taylor Swift felt so surreal. I went with my older sister, and we ended up thrift shopping since our outfits did not arrive on time. We got ready on that Sunday afternoon, put our jewelry on, our makeup, our dresses and tops while playing Taylor’s music. We finally arrived to the stadium and the lines were long but they were not a huge problem. We had a clear view of the stage while being on the third level. The opening acts were Phoebe Bridgers and Gracie Abrams, they were outstanding and brought great excitement for the audience before Taylor came out.

It was finally time for Taylor to enter the stage, I was not ready to see her, it felt so unreal but once I saw her I was jumping and screaming all at once. The crowd was deafening with its shouts and cries, but it did not matter because all I knew was that it was going to be one of the best nights of my life. We had wristbands that would flicker all kinds of colors during her songs. There were dancers and lights that flashed everywhere. She had amazing transitions between albums which created more exhilaration throughout the crowd. She did not sing her songs in a random order, but she sang them collectively with the album they corresponded to. Flames shot up during some performances, and at the end there were fireworks of all colors brightening the night sky. Confetti was everywhere and people were trying to grab as many as they could to take home. The previous concert had 20,000 people who showed up outside of the stadium, and after ours there were at least 50,000! It ended around 11:30 p.m. and we arrived home at 1:30 due to the immense traffic. Going to this concert was expensive but it was worth it. If I could go back and relive that night I totally would.

While Taylor sings the same setlist, she also plays two surprise songs for each concert, none being repeated from past performances . The surprise songs that were played when I attended were, “Hey Stephen” and “The Best Day”. Both songs from the album, Fearless (Taylor’s Version). Many of her songs include teenage experiences, love, and life lessons. “Hey Stephen” is mostly about love, while “The Best Day” reflects about the appreciation of family members and the innocence of youth. Taylor has always been able to create meaning behind her songs and she continues to inspire more fans along the way as she pursues her career.