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Taylor Swift has been travelling all over North America (and soon on International stages) with her Eras Tour, a concept that the singer/songwriter and world-renowned performer developed shortly after the pandemic ended.
You see, Taylor, as she explains during the Eras Tour, had started like many other musicians, releasing an album and then going on tour to promote said album. This had worked very well for her, even at the start of her career in 2006 when, for two years, she toured as an opening act for some big name Country music stars (including Brad Paisley which is how I came to discover Taylor Swift, when she opened up for him here in Halifax back in September 2007) The girl was a star even then, winning all of the country music awards that year for her self-titled album.
She released five other albums after that (Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, and Reputation), touring after a year of them ending in November 2018. Taylor Released Lover in 2019, but the COVID-19 pandemic hit before she could take that album on tour. In March 2020, she recorded and released Folklore in isolation, then its follow-up album Evermore six months later. In 2022, she released her fourth album since her last tour - Midnights and started questioning how she would promote all of these top-rated albums since it had been so long since she had been on tour.
This is where the idea of the Eras Tour started. A three-plus hour concert where each of these albums (or Eras) of music, including the five before, would be spotlighted and celebrated like never before.
You'd have to live under a rock not to know what has happened since. Taylor has repeatedly broken the internet and ticket master with people desperately trying to get tickets, and a new method of purchasing has been established, where you need to be chosen (by the luck of the draw) to get a code, which then allows you to get a ticket to one of her concerts possibly.
Surprisingly, I am a hard-core Swiftie, so I have tried repeatedly to get tickets for one of her shows (without spending a small fortune on scalper prices) and, in the end, missed out every time I tried. Luckily, my 14-year-old goddaughter got a code, and I got to be one of the lucky four people who could go with her - on November 23, 2024, in Toronto.
Until then, though, and for those who will never be able to see the Eras Tour live, Taylor recorded one of her LA shows and put it in a limited release in movie theatres across the world—premiering on Friday, October 13, 2023 (exactly 375 days before I see her live). So, for three hours on Friday night, I got to feel a bit of the magic that happens at an Eras Tour Concert.
There was a six-year-old who had made friendship bracelets with her mom and gave them out to the entire audience (trading with the other kids who had made friendship bracelets of their own).
There were people dressed up in all of the different eras, including my friend Monique, who really leaned into her Lover Era look. It was also emotional if you want to know the truth, making me question what the real thing is actually going to feel like.
That's the magic (and the genius) of Taylor Swift. She has created a community of fans like no other musician before her. Even Beatlemania (which may be the closest type of fandom) is nothing like what she alone has accomplished for herself, her industry and her fans. She is a boss. I can't wait to see what she does next, but until then, I'll keep counting down to when I get to see her live again. 372 days...
