TAYLOR SWIFT: THE ERAS TOUR

LUCIA FERREIRO LINARES (8) RECAPS THE TAYLOR SWIFT CONCERT IN TAMPA.

“It’s been a long time coming!” Taylor Swift exclained as she opened the Eras Tour. Between the Ticketmaster disaster, the outfits, the openers, the crowds, and the setlist, the Eras Tour was a hot topic this semester.

When Taylor Swift announced she was touring, demand was high and chaos ensued. The day of her presale, Nov. 15, Ticketmaster crashed. There were too many people trying to get tickets and trying to resell them. The prices skyrocketed, fans went crazy and only a lucky few got tickets. But for those fans, including me, the exciting anticipation for the tour grew.

I started planning outfits, trips, hotels, and more- this was more than a concert. It was a cultural phenomenon. People dressed up as their favorite era, or a specific moment in Taylor’s life. They made friendship bracelets to trade with other Swifties, wrote lyrics in their arms, painted 13’s on their hands, and did makeup and hair for the special day.

The day of the concert, my parents and I drove four hours from Miami to Tampa, got to the stadium at 5pm and waited in the crowd. At 7:53, a timer appeared on the screen on stage, announcing there were only two more minutes. 3, 2, 1, the screen opened and out came people with colorful flying drapes until the show began. Then, in walked the star, Taylor Swift.

She divided her concert by eras, and the first one was Lover. The concert started with the song Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince, and then she sang six songs from Lover. She transitioned to a nostalgic and happy era, Fearless. She sang three songs before she had an outfit change. She then went into Evermore, an earthy and calm vibe, where she sang five songs from this album. After that went Reputation and Speak Now. Then she went on to sing her Red era, including her emotional All Too Well 10-minute performance. After that, she transitioned to her longest era, Folklore. She brought out a prop house where sang Betty and Cardigan. Then came 1989, and she sang upbeat pop songs. The last era was her newest album Midnights. She sang Bejeweled, Lavender Haze, and ended the era with Karma. She closed the concert with two surprise acoustic songs: Mad Woman, from Folklore and Mean from Speak Now

If you are lucky enough to get tickets you are in for the best concert of your life. From the music, Taylor’s energetic performance, the people in the crowd with you, and the atmosphere, it is not one to be missed. I’ll summarize the concert in Taylor’s words from the song Long Live: “I had the time of my life with you.”