The Eras Tour. Five continents and 50 shows lasting three-and-a- half hours each. Taylor Swift performs 44 songs from her ten albums, each known as one of her “eras.” Since her last stadium tour in 2018, Taylor has released four new albums and re-recorded three of her previous ones, so that she can own her work. Her tour is so popular she managed to crash Ticketmaster. She has become a bonafide global superstar.
Perhaps her success is due to her ability to write lyrics that resonate with everyone. My older cousins who are around Taylor’s age feel they grew up with Taylor Swift. As part of the younger demographic, I might not have experienced the same things as Taylor at the same time, but her music is still highly relatable and inspiring, not to mention incredibly catchy.
My love of Taylor Swift began when I was 7 years old. As a kid who took piano lessons and taught myself guitar, I felt like I could be a superstar when I played Taylor’s songs. I played “Speak Now” at my third-grade talent show. I was a 9-year-old singing a song about crashing a wedding, something I had obviously never done, but somehow her music resonated with me. Taylor has an uncanny ability to make listeners feel like she knows precisely what they’ve been through.
When I learned she was going on tour again, I was determined to get tickets. Unfortunately, so were 14 million people, according to Ticketmaster. Despite keeping my computer open on Ticketmaster in my Nichols Athletic Center locker for three hours during JV soccer practice when tickets went on sale, I was unsuccessful at snagging seats. My only hope was to wait to see if ticket prices dropped enough in the hours before the concert on the day of. In a crazy turn of events, I got tickets for her final show in Boston just hours before it started.
I learned about this while I was at The Vanguard’s pasteup for its May issue. To get to Foxborough in time, I was going to have to leave early. While our Editor-in-Chief, Alexandra Kluzak, is notoriously strict about leaving pasteup early, she was willing to let me leave for this all- important moment because she herself is a die-hard Swiftie! (See Vol
52. Issue 1, “Editor’s Intro” in which the board introduced themselves by naming “a Taylor Swift song that encapsulated their essence.”)
On the way to Gillette, I taught my mom the lyrics to my favorite songs and rambled off many obscure facts about Taylor Swift. As I spoke about the song I had always loved, “Long Live,” my eyes welled up with tears—I was going to see Taylor Swift perform live! I couldn’t believe it. As we neared Gillette Stadium, the traffic built, as expected, but this allowed for a close-up of the mobs in intricately-crafted outfits aligned with different Taylor Swift albums/eras. From flannel pajama bottoms and “Junior Jewels” shirts which were odes to “You Belong With Me” to traffic light costumes labeled “IDK” for “Death By A Thousand Cuts,” there was an endless stream of people in genius costumes swarming the sidewalks of Foxborough. The cars in traffic crawling along with us were
all blasting Taylor. I felt so pleasantly overwhelmed.
The mile-and-a-half walk from our parking spot at Ambrosia, a wedding venue, to the stadium intensified my excitement: more outfits, more people singing, more unbounded joy. While I am scared of heights, I was happy to climb the many flights to our seats in the nosebleeds, five rows from the top of the stadium. When the jumping and dancing started and the structure under our feet was noticeably swaying, my mom turned to me and said, “If this thing goes down, just hold onto me.” I couldn’t be bothered with fears of my safety, though. I just continued screaming the lyrics to “Cruel Summer” and being overwhelmed with pure joy.
Needless to say, I loved seeing Taylor perform, but the best part of the concert was singing along with the 65,000-person crowd. The vibe was unmatched by anything I have experienced. The crowds in the stands went wild as the first
notes of each song began. I felt ecstasy.
Taylor, through her music and ability to connect with her fans, has created something unlike any other performer. Although she has a fierce community of fans, even those who don’t love her music have to be impressed with her
ability to span genres, fill stadiums, and perform for three-and-a-half hours straight.
The Eras Tour is set to gross $1 billion, making it the highest-grossing tour of all time. Taylor is expected to break the record held by Elton John— he’s 76 and has been performing for 61 years. Taylor is 33 and has been performing for only 19 years.
I’m not surprised by her success. I’ve witnessed firsthand Taylor’s ability to touch hearts.
–Kate Rice ’25
