Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour attracted waves of fans, or “Swifties,” from all over the country, who flocked to Santa Clara for a chance to see Swift perform. Her two concerts broke records, shut down ticket-selling websites, and stimulated our local economy by $33 Million. The show was hosted at Levi’s Stadium, attracting big names like supermodel Gigi Hadid, actress Maya Rudolph, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Warriors head coach Steve Kerr. Among the crowd were dozens of M-A Bears willing to spend thousands to watch Swift perform.
The concert featured songs from nine of Swift’s albums—all except for her self-titled debut album. Each album has a unique personality, some moody and others fairytale-esque. Attendees dressed in adherence to color schemes from different albums—some wore pastels to embody Lover while others wore earth tones to capture the folksy ambiance of Evermore.
Sophomore Addy McCombs said, “I was Lover, and so was my sister, her friend, and my mom.” Decked out in Swiftie memorabilia, fans felt a sense of camaraderie in the stands. Bears in attendance all agreed that belting out their favorite Taylor Swift lyrics with other girls was beyond rewarding. One attendee said, “Everyone was upbeat, happy, and complimenting one another. It was all about sharing happiness and love.”
In addition to dressing up, many fans traded friendship bracelets, some lucky Swifties even got chances to trade with celebrities, including Taylor Swift’s mom, who notoriously engages with her daughter’s fans. The trend initially began because of a lyric in Swift’s song, “You’re On Your Own, Kid,” from the Midnights album. Junior Abbie MacLeod said, “I made ten friendship bracelets the hour before I left, and I traded about seven of them, but I kept three of the ones I made because I really liked them.”
It’s no secret that Eras Tour tickets were nearly impossible to score and cost a pretty penny. Many fans, desperate for tickets, waited for hours to check out from Ticketmaster, dealing with frequent website crashes due to significant web traffic. Others took alternative measures to hear Swift perform, like sophomore Aanya Sahni, who tailgated outside the stadium. She explained, “We saved $2,000 and could hear her performance just as well as inside the stadium.” Some students were more liberal with their spending. Sophomore Alessandra Hartwig said, “It was 100% worth the money. I would spend every penny I own on the Eras Tour if I had to.” Students who attended agreed that their money was well spent and unanimously believed that the concert was an amazing experience. Some even described it as “life-changing.”
The Eras Tour was one of the most anticipated concerts in the past few years. It attracted thousands of people, won the hearts of its audience, and set in stone Swift’s reputation as America’s sweetheart.
