In my pink jeans and pastel tie-dye jumper, a nod to the Lover era, I finally saw the Taylor Swift Eras Tour… at the cinema! I’ve always really liked Taylor, but I spent my summer watching footage of her Eras Tour on TikTok and I am something of a born again Swiftie (a name warmly attributed to her superfans).
Eras has been one of the most unique tours in pop culture history, spanning Taylor’s 17-year career and 10 albums. This weekend, she released her concert movie to 100+ countries worldwide. During the tour itself, Swifties gather in the comment section to collectively watch the concert via social media because IRL tickets are like gold dust. Tonight, people around the world got to go to the tour all at once. It’s a charming loophole that brought us all together, and it’s lovely because we’d been doing that all along with our phones.
There is an unmatched camaraderie among Swifties, and as a result, the cultural impact of this tour has far transcended selling out a few arenas. “Fandom, more than ever, is about a shared community, often united on social media” explains Luisa Savoia, Integrated Psychotherapist PgDip. “As fans attending an event, we not only immerse ourselves in the music and performance but also in a sense of community. We forge connections not only with the artists but also with one another.” It makes total sense. This is why we’ve unanimously loved the footage of dads making friends before pick up, security guards singing along, or gatherings of local Swifties who couldn’t get tickets and enjoyed the show from the car park. That’s going to be me, FYI.
TikTok content
TikTok content
Eras Tour rituals have overflowed from the arena to the real world and spread an abundance of joy. Let’s take Cruel Summer, the second song on her 44-strong set list. It has become a tour tradition to scream the bridge of this song, something that everyone did when I accidentally found that Taylor Swift prom in Manchester (I know, I know) and everyone did in the cinema tonight. “The weirdest most magical thing is happening that’s never happened to me in the whole time I’ve been doing this” Taylor told her Pittsburgh crowd one evening. The surge in streams for this song had led to her management announcing it as her newest single, years after the album release. Legend has it that I am solely responsible.
TikTok content
TikTok content
My algorithm began to show me more of these heartfelt moments. Attendees, keen to make friends, swapped homemade friendship bracelets in the crowd each night. Remember we spoke about the kindness of Haim? They supported Taylor on the American leg of her tour and joined in. My best friend Thom and I made ours before we went to the cinema tonight and swapped with our friends in the queue.
Traylor alert!
I’m sure I needn’t remind you of the over-zealous security guard ruining someone’s fun during Bad Blood? Etsy seized the moment in an instant, selling endless lyric T-shirts that included the throws of Taylor’s intervention.
TikTok content
As for the economic impact, at the time of writing Taylor’s opening weekend has potential to outperform the Barbenheimer weekend. She generated record breaking ticket sales, amassing over $100 million in pre-sale revenue.
Storytelling is her superpower, captured in every possible detail like the Friday 13th launch date (her lucky number) and the £19.89 entry fee (her birth year and album name). Thom insists that his favourite part of the whole thing is that Bleecker Street films knew they were up against an avalanche and pushed their movie opening back, in an explanation post headed with Taylor’s “so we’ll take our time… are you ready for it?”
Intimacy was at the helm of this movie, captured at the Los Angeles SoFi stadium over three consecutive evenings. Every whisper of hair, glistening rhinestone and knowing smile was translated in excruciatingly sharp detail, and the result was a feeling that you were really and truly there. Though I was a little disappointed not to have more backstage Taylor time (we’re not in the Miss Americana Netflix documentary anymore), I was beyond thrilled to have the next best thing to actual Eras Tour tickets.
Taylor creates a togetherness and a safe space that breeds harmony. It’s a strange paradox actually, because she storms the stage in sequin masterpieces and you want to be her, but you also know that she’d embrace you like a bestie. I get the same warm fuzzies from seeing her look amazing as you do when you see your oldest friend in her wedding dress – I’m delighted for her, she deserves it. Part of me thinks that’s why the internet goes into meltdown with news about her love life; we’re collectively rooting for her happily ever after.
The Eras Tour fandom has totally captured my heart. There’s an open invitation to join in the fun. Whether you’re a die hard Swiftie like my friend Soph (her Nashville diary of flying 4000 miles to see the Eras Tour is the most heart-warming video on YouTube) or whether you’re like me, having wandered clumsily in from the streets of TikTok, you are welcome. I am grateful to the Swifties for letting me bask in their family and looking forward to falling further down the rabbit hole.
Get your tickets, make your bracelets, and wear something in homage to your favourite Taylor era for a night of unequivocal escapism. It’s an enchanting 13/10.
