Taylor Nation takes over as the “Eras” tour begins

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons | Taylor Swift opened her "Eras" tour in Glendale, Ariz. on March 17.

Emily Fritz | A&E Editor

March 23, 2023

Are you ready for it?

Taylor Swift fans, commonly referred to as “Swifties,” are going wild on social media as long-standing pop star sensation Swift takes the stage once again.

For some, the highly anticipated tour is marked with bad blood between adoring fans and Ticketmaster, after the ticketing giant allowed for unregulated price gouging during ticket resales.

Regardless, Swift’s cult following has pushed her into a new level of fame. Not only is her discography beloved by millions, but the nature of her tour has pushed 10 of her albums into the Billboard 200. Swift is only the fifth artist to achieve this feat, and only the second to accomplish this during their lifetime.

As fans come together for their turn to see the star perform, many have designed unique outfits to represent a different “era” in Swift’s career or reference specific songs and lyrics that they resonate with.

“I have seen, like, 17 people dressed as miracles. I’ve seen, like, really amazing, specific visual representations of lyrics or weird online jokes that we have. Or, you know, I’ve seen, like someone dressed as a whole, entire willow tree,” Swift said during one of her performances.

Some fans have taken their creativity to a new level. Using https://erastaybow.carrd.co/, Swifties have organized venue-wide visual effects to take place.

Through the website, fans can select which city they are traveling to, what night they plan to see Swift perform and where they’re sitting in order to create a rainbow display for the artist.

Other fans have taken to creating friendship bracelets to exchange at the concerts, in observance of the lyrics “So make the friendship bracelets / Take the moment and taste it” from the song, “You’re On Your Own Kid,” which appears on Swift’s most recent album, “Midnights.”

Because her newest album is not the feature for the current tour, Swift has sampled songs from all of her previous albums, including “Reputation,” “Evermore,” “Folklore” and “1989.”

Two of her albums, “Red” and “Fearless,” have been rerecorded due to a dispute regarding the ownership of her first six studio albums. While “Red” and “Fearless” have been rereleased under the label “(Taylor’s Version),” her debut album and three others have yet to be rereleased.

Since the beginning of the tour, many fans have taken to Spotify and Apple Music to recreate the event setlists for other fans. While the performances vary from day-to-day, each concert sits at around 45 songs with surprise numbers appearing from older eras.

As is typical of Swift’s shows, the artist utilizes several outfit changes, intricate set pieces, immersive lighting effects and some mild stunt work.

Perhaps most notably, Swift dives into an opening in the stage floor. The visual effects give the illusion of the singer swimming underneath the flooring before she emerges in a different attire.

Overall, Swift has fostered a deep and empathetic connection with her fans that is well-known across the music industry. As was seen during the fall 2023 release of “Midnights,” many of Swifties take to a cult-following style adoration for her.

As one of the largest tours post-pandemic, it is difficult not to be swept up in the excitement that has flooded social media outlets and has received non-stop news coverage in the entertainment world.

The Eras Tour will be in Pittsburgh June 16-17 at Acrisure Stadium. girl in red will act as special guest for both performances, with Gracie Abrams present on June 16 and OWENN on June 17.

Tickets for the Eras tour are highly coveted, but some are available for resale through Ticketmaster and StubHub.