NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — After more than 150 shows on five continents over nearly two years, the global phenomenon that is Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is coming to an end.
There’s no simple way to summarize the effects of Swift’s decision to stage a 3.5-hour concert, featuring 44 songs representing 10 different “eras” of her career – a feat she began in March 2023 and which will end on Sunday in Vancouver. Canada. The tour broke sales and attendance records and created such an economic boom that even the Federal Reserve took note.
But for many of those who attended the concerts, and for the millions more who eagerly watched the live streams broadcast by fans on their screens, the tour also became a beacon of joy – a chance not only to appreciating Swift’s vast musical career, but also celebrating fans’ years of travel. to have taken with her.
Savor the time that remains
“Right now we have this special designated time to be together, talk about the show and hang out,” said Tess Bohne, a stay-at-home mom to a content creator at three dedicated to livestreaming the concerts from Swift – assisting herself or coordinating with others to highlight their streams. “For some, it’s their therapy.”
Bohne, who won the title among the Swiftie community As the “queen of livestream,” she says, she often interacts with fans hosting parties to watch a live Eras concert at home with their closest friends. People have also formed lasting friendships while watching the show together from afar.
Swift has long been known for leaving Easter eggs for her fans to identify and decipher, a quirk that quickly came to life on tour as eagle-eyed devotees began analyzing the possible meaning from her outfits, her surprise songs and her subtle lyrics. exchanges. The buzz was so great that several mobile apps were launched so fans could guess and follow all the different changes. There’s even a game that hands out prizes for correctly predicting various details of a show, including the color of the guitar Swift uses while playing “Lover.”
“Imagine your favorite sports team,” Bohne said. “They are still a team, but they will not play any games for the foreseeable future. This will leave a void for some people.
Swift herself seemed to struggle with it the end was near as she performed at her 100th Eras show in June in Liverpool.
“This is the very first time that I have recognized myself and admitted that this tour is going to end in December,” she said, emphasizing that “this tour has really become my whole life.” Late last month in Toronto, she briefly collapsed at the thought of the tour’s impending end.
A record tour in retrospect
Swift kicked off the Eras tour in Glendale, Arizona, the first of many sold-out stadiums as the tour progressed first to the United States, then to South America, Asia, the United Kingdom and Canada.
At the end of 2023, it had become the first tour in history gross of over a billion dollars and saw hundreds of millions of dollars spent on merchandise. It is expected to gross more than $2 billion by the end of the tour on Dec. 8, according to concert trade publication Pollstar.
Throughout the tour, Swift was named Time Magazine Person of the Year. Apple Music named it its artist of the year and Spotify revealed that it was The most listened to artist in the world in 2023. She released a concert film that topped the box office and helped skyrocket the NFL’s viewership when she started dating someone Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Towards the end of the tour, she released a beautiful book.
And if that wasn’t enough, she released re-recordings of her 2010’s Nashville-era record, “Speak Now ” And The 2014 album “1989” and I released her 11th studio album, “The Department of Tortured Poets”.
“I think it’s perfect in these times to have someone like Taylor to distract us, give us inspiration, give us hope,” said Ralph Jacodine, assistant professor at Berklee College of Music and former concert promoter who worked with Bruce Springsteen and others. “And it’s a woman who owns it, she’s come a long way.” And now she can talk about artists’ rights, women’s rights and equality. And truly, his work ethic is relentless. »
Even the word “era” has become ubiquitous, with fans and casual observers using the term to explain both frivolous and transformative phases: are you in your “villain era” or a “healing era”?
“I think this tour really cemented his position as a legend,” said Kayla Wong, an influencer who runs the popular Swift-focused Instagram account @headfirstfearless. “Whether you like her music or not, whether you think she’s talented or not, the numbers really speak for themselves. The tour has broken so many records and been such a global phenomenon for so long that I think it has reached a level where it is undeniable that its impact is everlasting.
Still, the tour had its own dark moments. In Brazil last year, one of the spectators – Ana Clara Benevides, 23 – fainted and later died of heat exhaustion. In July, British police charge 17-year-old with murder following stabbing attack during a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga class during summer vacation, which cost the lives of three little girls. Media reports said Swift met with some of the survivors backstage in London.
And in August, Swift’s three concerts in Vienna were canceled after authorities announced arrests over an apparent plot to launch an attack on an event in the city. Tens of thousands of Swifties from all over the world came to Vienna for the shows.
“The cancellation of our shows in Vienna was devastating,” Swift later wrote in a statement. “The reason for these cancellations filled me with a new sense of fear and immense guilt because so many people had planned to come to these shows.”
Swifties are stronger than ever
Through the trials and celebrations, Swift’s connection with her fans only grew and deepened throughout the tour. After the Vienna cancellations, many fans took to the streets to sing along to Swift’s songs and place friendship bracelets — which have also become an iconic part of the shows — on a nearby tree.
Over the past two years, the fandom has welcomed audiences old and new.
“I feel like years ago we were all the same age and the same fans for the same reason,” Wong said of the Swifties. “Now the fandom has people from all kinds of backgrounds, all ages, and all different reasons for following her in the first place.”