Taylor Swift’s record-breaking 20-city run, otherwise known as The Eras Tour, made an indelible mark on the lives of many, fashioning a unique cultural experience unparalleled by any other concert.
I attended a concert at the closing of the first leg of the U.S. tour with California being her last stop. While the concert was an unforgettable experience, the mere anticipation of waiting nine months for my Los Angeles tour date while following the revelations of the surprise songs performed at each city, watching fans delve into the world of uncovering Taylor’s many hidden “easter eggs,” and eagerly awaiting special announcements at the shows is an era I reminisce on.
As many fans did, I tuned in at 8 p.m., or “surprise-song-o’clock,” to watch shaky TikTok live streams, even if her singing was often drowned out by the ecstatic screams of the crowd. I would check the local time of the city she was performing in, set an alarm on my phone, and, in annoyance to many of my friends, would drop everything no matter where I was or what I was doing just to listen in for 10 minutes to experience the unveiling of the two mystery songs in real-time.
I think fondly of the time when my freshman year roommate and I reacted in shock after seeing the words Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) on my phone as we frantically switched from one person’s livestream to the next, the video glitching in response to the poor dorm wifi.
I also not-so-fondly remember gasping in disbelief and jokingly repeating the trending phrase “I am done with Taylor Swift” after hearing the intro to “You Are in Love” on a livestream the day before my concert date. Singing along to the surprise songs “Death by a Thousand Cuts” and “You’re on Your Own Kid” 24 hours later almost made up for missing one of my favorite songs.
My love for Taylor’s music had me close to paying an absurd amount of money to attend the last LA show just because I was under the impression that there was a possibility of experiencing the announcement of 1989 (Taylor’s Version) — which turned out to be true. Merely hearing about a second re-recording announcement from the comfort of my bed was jaw-dropping enough to instill another sense of excited anticipation in me for the release of new music. With 1989 being the re-recording I was most excited for, I can’t wait to enter another era defined by this dynamic pop album.