A What’s What For The Eras Tour
On March 17th, 2023, Taylor Swift launched the North American leg of her most ambitious concert to date, The Eras Tour. Swift will have visited twenty cities and done fifty two shows by the end of the tour on August 9th, 2023. This is her sixth headlining concert tour and second all-stadium tour, her first being the Reputation Stadium Tour in 2018. At the release of this article, she will have already performed seven shows, adding three more to the list after this weekend in Tampa, Florida. The aim of this show is to be a retrospective on her career, performing songs from each of her ten studio albums.
Mere minutes after the first show was finished in Arizona, all the information of the concert flooded social media. We know that the setlist consists of forty four songs which are divided into ten acts (an act for each album). Each act also has its own costume, corresponding to their respective era. Custom performance looks were made from brands like Versace, Louboutin, Oscar de la Renta, and Roberto Cavalli just to name a few. With such a lengthy set list, the concert lasts a staggering three plus hours. Included in the 44 songs are two surprise songs that will change every night of the tour, one acoustic and one piano version of the original. Taylor has been known to make each show unique, so if one is lucky enough to see her multiple times, they will not see the same show twice.
It is crucial to share that the journey of getting a ticket to this tour did not come easy. Consumer demand was “unprecedented” and “astronomical” said Ticketmaster, the provider of tickets for the tour. 3.5 million people registered for the fan presale, which led to the site's eventual crash and ticketing mayhem to occur. There were 2.4 million lucky ones who were able to snag tickets in the first batch of sales. In just those few minutes, Swift broke the all-time record for most concert tickets sold by a single artist in just one day. It was reported by Billboard that the tour has already made an estimated $554 million in December. By the time the tour is to be finished, it is projected it will have grossed $591 million. These approximations put Swift on track to break the previous all-time female record of ticket sales, held by Madonna for her Sticky & Sweet Tour in 2008-09.
After viewing the content of the tour on social media, “Swifites”, the self-appointed name for her fans, have come to the conclusion that all the hardship to get the tickets was well worth it. The energy is palpable in the stadiums– even watching online allows you to feel the excitement from the crowd. A large majority of her fans have and plan to dress to the 10’s when attending the show. The outfits range from full glam looks to match the aesthetic of her newest album, Midnights, to dressing in a tree costume for her song “Willow”. Fans have also fostered a greater sense of community by trading friendship bracelets with each other. Usually they will have an inside joke that fans know or a lyric from one of her many masterfully written songs. The reasoning behind these strong connections being built is that everyone is there for the same reason: to have fun and immortalize this moment of seeing your favorite artist live in concert!
Yet again, there is more controversy surrounding the tour. As I said before, everyone in the stadium is there for the same reason, but those on the periphery have ulterior motives. The merchandise lines for the show have gotten astronomically long and the clothing is becoming highly coveted and valuable. Some, not even attending the concert, have lined up early and have bought large amounts in hopes to resell them to buyers online. With outcries from the fans, there are now regulations in place to only permit people with tickets to buy merchandise and a maximum of 2 of the same item being allowed for purchase per individual. Hopefully these orders will help ease this hectic process.
Even with some negative incidents occurring, they must not overshadow the history Taylor is making on this tour. In Arlington, Texas she will receive a key to the city, the mayor of Glendale, Jerry Weiers, announced a "symbolic" name change to “Swift City”, and more to surely come as she visits other cities. It has been said many times before, but Taylor Swift is the music industry. She can change genres, be off of social media for years on end, face media scrutiny, yet still keeps us coming back for more. The tour only started, but there is no telling what this powerhouse of an artist will accomplish next! All we can do is sit back and try to take in this major cultural moment in music history.
