Taylor Swift, The Eras Tour has been a big deal this year for many, with Swift playing songs from all of her ten albums ranging from country to pop. At concerts across the country and globe, fans started traditions such as exchanging friendship bracelets and dressing up as their favorite album to connect with others over their shared love of the world-class artist.
If you didn’t have a chance to go, students at Wilsonville High School can fill you in. There were no concerts in Oregon, causing many students to take the road trip up to Seattle, WA, to attend one of the two dates at the home of the Seahawks, Lumen Field. Getting tickets was a tough process, with fans waiting in the online queue for hours at a time, getting seats in the nosebleeds for hundreds of dollars.
To anyone not a “swiftie,” the three-hour, expensive, forty-four-song concert may seem extensive, especially with the infamous process of getting tickets. Others disagree, such as Paige Hibbard, a sophomore at WVHS. She attended the second night of the Eras Tour in Seattle, July 23rd, at Lumen Field.
Hibbard explained that the concert was a great experience and that her favorite part was the costume changes after each set. She expressed that her favorite album is Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and that she’s “been a swiftie since the beginning.” Her mom surprised her with seats in section one hundred, for which she expressed how lucky and thankful she was.
Also called “The Summer of Taylor Swift” by some, the tour boosted economies in the cities she toured in. It brought in money due to increased hotel stays, ticket sales, and food. Swift now travels outside the US, but her impact is still booming. Students, not even fans of the singer, have heard all about the concert.
Vaani Aga, also a sophomore at WVHS, says that she wouldn’t consider herself a full-on swiftie but enjoyed seeing videos of the concert and hearing about it and would’ve loved to have gone. “I wish I could have gone; if I listened to her more, I think it would’ve been a great experience. It seemed like everyone was a big family.”
The overall attitude of students was that the concert was an amazing experience for everyone, no matter where you sit. Whether you watched from your phone or from the front row, it was unforgettable. With songs from every era being sung, people had a chance to hear all of their favorite songs along with thousands of people.