By Maire Crooks, The Current Co-Editor in Chief
From battling it out on TicketMaster in November to carefully crafting the perfect concert outfit, Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour has been a long-awaited occasion for many fans. The tour began in Scottsdale, Arizona in March and finally reached the East Coast in May, meaning the time had come for River Hill students to attend local concerts.
The experience of the Eras Tour is one to remember. “The concert itself was amazing honestly, the production and setlist was incredible. I went into it knowing little about the actual show and I was blown away. It was my second time seeing Taylor and I swear she gets better every time. The energy in the stadium is unlike any other concert I’ve been to,” explains junior Sam Smole who attended Philadelphia Night 3 of the tour.
Taylor Swift’s performance is always impactful, and the connections that fans make with each other keeps that memory alive. Lily Ulman, a River Hill junior who also attended Philadelphia Night 3, mentioned, “All of the people were so nice and happy to be there, which was something both my sister and I really picked up on and appreciated… [everyone] was very genuine.”
However, the value of the Eras Tour is not just held in the actual event; for many concert-goers, the preparation is just as important. River Hill students describe how they needed to think through many logistics due to the extreme crowds, including parking, arrivals and departure times, and even the length of the merch lines. Sam describes her group’s logistics: “We got super lucky with parking and ended up getting to the venue right when the parking lot opened and tailgated [lunch, changing, making friendship bracelets, etc.] for about 2.5 hours.” This parking paid off both at the start and end of the concert, making “leaving a breeze,” and allowing Sam to be “second in line to the gate opening and [get] straight to merch inside the venue.”
Attendees typically dress up as one of Taylor’s “eras” (albums) or a specific moment in her career. Both Lily and Sam chose Swift’s seventh studio album, Lover, as their inspiration. “I love pink and Lover!” exclaimed Lily when she recalled her outfit. She began crafting her ensemble with a staple piece, a sequin dress, which was “found… at Forever 21 in Times Square.” To complete the look, “big, chunky heart earrings” and “rhinestones that [she] got the day-of from CVS” were added. Lily reflects: “I think I did it justice… I’m happy with the outcome.”
Sam’s outfit was inspired by a specific song on the album, Ms. Americana and the Heartbreak Prince. “[My boyfriend and I] dressed up with sashes and crowns and put ‘13’ on our hands,” she says.
To compliment the outfits, many fans also trade handmade bracelets at the concerts. Many concert-goers spend months preparing to trade, while others, like Sam, only made a few bracelets. She articulates, “I wish I made more, but luckily there were people who made a bunch. We met a lot of cool people through trading bracelets so I’d highly recommend making some.”
Although the River Hill students who attended and will attend in the near future agree that the Eras Tour is a valuable memory, it does come with a slight cost: going to school exhausted. Those who were able to snag Friday and Saturday night tickets are able to slightly catch up on sleep after the late night (the show is over three hours!), but Sunday attendees were not so lucky. Lily ended up not getting home until 4:40am, but still had to wake up around six in the morning. This was definitely not the ideal scenario for her, but she claims it “was special to be with [her] sister,” and remarks that the whole event was “enchanted.”
When asked about why they wanted to attend this concert, fans simply cannot express how much Taylor Swift means to them. As Sam says, “She’s been a really big part of me for a while now. I just really love everything she stands for and her values align a lot with mine. It truly shows how much she loves and appreciates her fans so supporting her is a no brainer.”