After performing 517 hours in five different continents, Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour came to an end on December 8, 2024, in Vancouver, Canada. The Eras Tour was an incomparable concert experience, lasting three and a half hours and featuring music from 10 of Swift’s albums with additional surprise acoustic songs.
Taylor Swift brought The Eras Tour to 50 different stadiums within two years. As fans flocked to hotels and restaurants around concerts, these cities brought in large amounts of revenue, helping to revive tourism.
Throughout the 149 concerts that Swift performed during the Eras Tour, fans formed numerous traditions. Many “Swifties” wore a glitter 13 on their hands, an ode to Swift’s lucky number, with their carefully planned costumes. Fans were also inspired by Swift’s song, “You’re On Your Own, Kid,” featuring the line “so make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it, you’ve got no reason to be afraid.” To honor the lyric, fans created friendship bracelets with song lyrics and album colors then traded the bracelets with other fans at the concerts.
“It was cool to see the different bracelets that people made, and it gave you a different connection with people,” said English teacher Mrs. Ella Fox who attended the Eras Tour in Philadelphia PA, and Foxborough MA.
Because so many fans were excited about the concert, getting tickets for The Eras Tour was difficult. The tour was announced on November 1, 2022, and the first ticket sale took place on the 15th of the same month. The demand for tickets was tremendous, causing Ticketmaster, a ticket sale and distribution website, to crash. General sale was then cancelled, and fans had to resort to buying resale tickets at high prices, which Swift made no profit from. Some fans even stood outside the stadiums just to hear the concert, interacting with other fans who also could not get tickets.
Fans also watched live recordings, filmed by concertgoers. This was a great way for people who couldn’t get tickets to feel included in the events. Swifties all over the world stayed up late to watch the concerts from different time zones.
“It was always something to look forward to,” freshman and two-time Eras Tour attendee Pearl Bio said, reflecting on her experience watching the live streams.
Most fans tuned into the live streams in anticipation of hearing the surprise songs during the acoustic set. During the first leg of the tour, Swift vowed to not repeat any of the songs she chose; however, later she started creating mashups of songs on acoustic guitar and piano.
Swift’s outfits to represent each era also excited fans. Each night she switched up her outfits, often showing off a few brand new ones. In total, her wardrobe contained 60 plus outfits. An app called Swift Alert was even created for fans to guess the outfits and surprise songs each night along with providing other Taylor Swift related news.
Throughout the whole of the tour, Swifties participated in sing-a-long chants and handclapping rituals to go along with the beloved songs. The atmosphere of the concerts were filled with joy as fellow Swifties shared these traditions.
“Everyone was so excited,” said Bio. “People were screaming the songs and chants.”
Taylor Swift’s music allows people to feel different emotions, with a song for every scenario, and genres ranging from country to rock to pop to indie folk. Swift’s music impacts people of all ages.
“Her music has shaped my life and so many other’s lives,” Bio said.
Some people have been fans for longer than others. Mrs. Fox feels as though she grew up with Swift, listening to her music since she was gifted a Taylor Swift album in 2008.
“[Swift’s music] has always been relatable to me,” said Mrs. Fox. “She’s one of the best lyricists of all time.”
The end of the Eras Tour has been very upsetting for many fans as they lose something to look forward to each weekend. Nevertheless, the connections and friendships gained from experiences at the Eras Tour will never end.
