Flashing lights, impeccably-trained backup dancers, bejeweled costumes, 11 albums, and a perfectly painted red lip make the one-of-a-kind “Eras Tour,” a three-hour concert performed by Taylor Swift that spans 20 years of her music. The highest-grossing tour of all time is set to come to an end in just a few weeks, closing out its second North American leg in Canada.
This past weekend 40,000 fans, including SU students, loaded into The Rogers Center in Toronto, decked out in themed outfits with friendship bracelets on their wrists. For Canadian Taylor Swift fans, this was the first weekend of the nearly two-year-long tour to take place closer to home. While for some American fans, it was an opportunity to see the singer live, and travel to a new country.
Recent SU graduate Katie Hill took the day off work in New York City to fly with friends and family to see the show on Friday night. Seeing Taylor live was a special experience to share with her sister.
“When I first got into her, it was the Red tour,” Hill said. “Me and my sisters dressed up, we had the black top hat and sparkly suspenders, we went all out, red lipstick and everything.”
After going to both the Red and Reputation tours with her older sister, Hill first attended the Eras Tour on her 21st birthday at MetLife stadium. For the second leg of the U.S. tour, Hill knew seeing the singer live was something she didn’t see herself experiencing again.
Katie Hill and sister Julia Hill at the Eras Tour, photo provided by @kt.hill on Instagram
“After going for the first time, I will say, I had no plans to go again. I thought one time I went to the Eras Tour, that's enough. So many people can’t get tickets, I was so fine only going once,”
Hill said. “But then, the news came out that she was going to come back to the Northeast, and I was like, okay I might as well just try.”
Hill got presale codes both times she signed up to buy tickets, a lucky luxury most fans have not had amidst the“Ticketmaster chaos,” of the last few years.
She also noted that a major selling point for her was the opportunity to not only see Taylor live again but do it in a country she’s never been to before.
“I had never been to Canada, this is my first time, so that was definitely a part of the appeal," Hill said.
SU senior Emily Hartman was also excited by the prospect of traveling to a new place.
Hartman drove four hours the day of the concert, crossing the border with her friends to attend the show.
“I always wanted to go to Canada, so it was actually kind of like the perfect win-win for me,” Hartman said.
Emily Hartman at The Eras Tour, photo provided by Emily Hartman
On the way to Toronto, Hartman and her friends listened to Taylor's music for the entirety of the trip, interacting with other cars also on their way from Central NY.
“On the way too and from the Eras Tour you see a lot of people with their cars all decked out, which was super cool because we waved to them on the way,” Hartman said.
Eras Tour car at Canadian Border © 2024 Lizzy Calvo
She even saw some fans trading friendship bracelets between cars. Started by fans to reference a lyric in “You’re on Your Own Kid,” (one of the surprise songs Taylor performed at Harman’s show in Toronto) friendship bracelets have become an integral part of the Eras Tour experience.
No matter where fans are from, they’re all bonded by the same excitement, bracelets, and journeys to the stadium, whether by a 15-minute drive in their home city, or a trip to another country.
“I think that the Eras Tour is unlike any other concert I've ever been to, and I think it really is because of Taylor’s fans.We’re all connected because of the same reason, of loving Taylor,” Hartman said.
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