“Long Live” the tour spanning 11 eras, 16 years of music discography and record-breaking performances. 

“My sister is the reason I got to see Taylor. I wanted it for a birthday present but I thought it would be way too expensive. Then we got the tickets and it ended up being a great bonding experience,” senior Charlotte Long said.

When Taylor Swift kicked off the “Eras Tour” on Friday March 17, 2023, in Glendale, nobody knew what the tour would entail. Swift shocked fans by performing a three and a half hour setlist, bringing the “Lover” house and “Folklore” cabin to stage and diving headfirst into the stage after her acoustic set. Fans were enthralled. It didn’t take long for the “Eras Tour” to capture the attention of the world.

“In following Swift (on social media) or even for those who did not, her presence was all across social media, allowing her to directly address and connect to current and potential fans alike, keeping them up to date on all her news and giving them the chance to easily share that news with friends. The concert footage increased the sense of FOMO (fear of missing out), amplifying people’s interest,” writer, educator and reviewer Micheal Belcher said.

As the ticket sales began on Ticketmaster, fans were selected in the lottery system to get an access code. A majority of fans waited in the virtual queue until it was their turn to buy tickets only for the site to glitch out or say there were no tickets available. Livid fans took to social media to express their disappointment and warn fans around the world. Ticketmaster did not prepare for the online traffic since the site crashed when ticket sales went live. This crash allowed scalpers to purchase tickets and resell them for nearly ten times the price, making it infeasible for fans to buy.

“The ticket sale fiasco is a direct result of Ticketmaster’s failure to allocate sufficient resources into the most fundamental part of its business: online ticket sales. Ticketmaster knew that the demand for The Eras Tour was going to be very high, yet it not only failed to prepare accordingly but it also gave false reassurances to Taylor Swift’s team that it could handle the sales traffic,” said Caitlin Smith attorney at Ste-Croix Law, PLLC.

Even though ticket sales stressed fans out, opening weekend showed the tickets were worth the effort. At the start of the tour, the show included performances from “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)”, “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)”, “Red (Taylor’s Version)”, “1989 (Taylor’s Version)”, “reputation”, “folklore”, “evermore” and “Midnights”. “Taylor Swift”, her debut and self-titled album, is the only era not dedicated a permanent place on the setlist. Halfway through the tour, she released her brand-new studio album, “THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT” and permanently added it to the setlist when the tour resumed in Europe. 

“Since the tour combined all Swift’s eras into one concert, it offered an appealing variety. Whether a fan had been with her since the beginning or became a recent convert, and whether someone loved one era or all of them, there was something in it for everyone,” Belcher said. 

Along with each individual era, Swift included an acoustic set where she picked two songs from her entire discography to play, first on her guitar and then piano. On the first North American leg, Swift decided not to replay surprise songs. However, by the start of the South America leg, Swift alerted fans there would be “no more rules” and she performed whatever she wished during the set. At the start of the second leg of the tour, she experimented by singing a mashup of two-three of her songs on each instrument, using her creativity to blend different songs she’d written into one. By the end of the tour, cities were known for the surprise songs they heard.

“I’ve been a fan since ‘Midnights.’ My sister and I dived back into all her old music to prepare for the concert, so one week we would listen to debut and the next week would be ‘Fearless’. We missed ‘Haunted’ for a surprise song by one day which is my sister’s favorite song,” senior Charlotte Long said.

For certain acoustic sets, Swift brought out a guest to join her on stage for a duet. Guests who appeared include: Sabrina Carpenter, Gracie Abrams, Jack Antonoff, Ed Sheeren, Hayley Williams, Florence+The Machine and Aaron Dessner.

“(By bringing in guests) the show could be different everywhere she went, adding a sense of ‘I was there when..’, further amplified by the fact that she performed new secret songs for each set. Also, fans of other artists could become fans of Swift and vice versa,” Belcher said.

Another element keeping fans on their toes are re-recordings and new album announcements. Swift is currently re-recording her six stolen studio albums so she owns the rights to her music. She is known to drop “easter eggs” to clue Swifities in on what the next era and rerecording will be. Because of this, fans are constantly on the lookout solving the puzzles and clues. She announced “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” whilst onstage at her show in Nashville, Tenn, in May 2023. This started the hardcore speculation or “clowning” between Swifties. 

They began decoding everything from music videos, Instagram posts and phrases said onstage, which led them to believe Swift would drop “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” Wednesday Aug. 9, 2023, while performing at SoFi Stadium. At that show, she wore all blue outfits to represent the album and proceeded to announce her final re-recording of the year. Since then, Swifites scour the internet for any clues for when she might drop her remaining re-records, “reputation (Taylor’s Version)” and “Taylor Swift (Taylor’s Version).”

“The emotions of clowning as a Swiftie are an up and down roller coaster. If she comes out wearing a certain color you think ‘omg this is the night she announces ‘reputation (Taylor’s Version)’. Then everything falls apart during the acoustic set and you go to bed sad,” alumnus Daniel Momirovski said.

Swift’s costumes were another defining aspect of the show. From the sparkly “Lover” bodysuits, to the glittering “Speak Now” ballgown, to the infamous red “reputation” bodysuit and “Karma” jacket, her outfits encompassed the aesthetic of each era. She had 16 outfit changes each night. Just like the setlist, certain costumes such as the 1989 two-piece set and surprise song dresses were retired and replaced throughout the tour. By the end of the tour Swift debuted over 90 new looks.

“My favorite outfit from the tour is the tiger stripe ‘Fearless’ outfit. The colors go well together and it is a gorgeous design. The staple outfit of the tour is the pink and blue ‘Lover’ bodysuit since it is on the poster for the Eras Tour movie and the very first outfit we saw on tour,” Momirovski said.

From clowning to casting spells, the Swiftie community truly made the Eras Tour “a marvelous time”. Concert staples created by the Swiftie community include the chants during certain songs, lighting up the stadium during “marjorie”, the double clap at the end of “You Belong with Me”, and the post bridge hand heart during “Fearless.” 

Perhaps the largest staple of the concert is the widespread creation of friendship bracelets because of a single song lyric. Swifties heard “so make the friendship bracelets” in “You’re On Your Own Kid” and proceeded to make it a global trend. Trading bracelets became a tradition at each show. There was a high enough demand for bracelet materials that Michaels craft stores saw their sales in overall jewelry go up more than 40% when the trend gained popularity and sales increased 500% in Pennsylvania alone, according to Retail Customer Experience.

“Her (Swift) best attribute was her ability to connect fans with one another in a welcoming environment. Friends made bracelets for friends and strangers. People were taught to be ‘clever’ and ‘kind’ with one another. The concert venue was transformed into a wonderful space for joy and camaraderie,” Belcher said.

Outside of the stadium, fans found other ways to enjoy the show. In Munich, nearly 25,000 people gathered on Olympic Hill to experience the show from afar, according to independent.ie. The Eras Tour movie and live streams of the show gave opportunities for fans to watch from home. The livestreams saw over 100,000 streamers each night across all streaming platforms with the numbers peaking during the acoustic set. 

Hardcore fans participated in “Mastermind”, a game created by Swift Alert with the objective of guessing what would happen at each show. From predicting Swift’s outfits, to special guests and announcements, the game had many fans in a chokehold with the last game clocking 603,093 entries. This gave fans the chance to engage with the concert if they didn’t snag tickets.

“Participating in ‘Mastermind’ was fun but also daunting. I held my breath during the intros of every era because you never know what she (Swift) could wear,” Momirovski said.

Over the span of 632 days, Swift performed 149 shows across 50 cities in five continents. The only cancelled shows were the three shows in Vienna, Austria due to a terrorist attack confirmed by the Austrian government. She also released: “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” movie and “The Eras Tour Book”. 

Throughout the course of the tour, Swift broke records left and right. Records include: the highest grossing tour by a solo artist, highest grossing tour of all time, the highest grossing concert film of all time and the fastest selling book of 2024. Last December, the concert grossed $1 billion, making it the first tour to cross the 10-digit threshold. Overall, the tour made $2,077,618,725 in revenue and sold 10,168,008 tickets according to The Box Office. 

“Constant reinvention and renewal kept the spotlight on Swift, ever letting her name fall out of the media or people’s minds. Her image shifts and evolves and grows, acting as a snowball effect, adding on fans as she goes. Whether one is a moviegoer or a book lover, they know who Swift is to them,” Belcher said.

While The Eras Tour came to a close on Sunday Dec. 8, 2024, it created a lifetime of memories for new and old fans alike. It set a new standard for the concert experience. Whether it was causing a 2.3 magnitude earthquake at Lumen Stadium or singing through the “rainiest rain show that ever rain showed,” Swift had “the time of (her) life” on this journey with her fans. It might be the end of this era, but it is only the start of an age. 

“We know that she is a talented multi-faceted artist, dabbling in video direction, composing music for other artists and even acting,” Smith said. “While it is sad that The Eras Tour has drawn to an end, it’s exciting to think about what other kinds of projects she may unveil in the future.”