How to Attend a Taylor Swift Show Like a Proper Swiftie
Make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it.
It’s me. Hi.
Your friendly neighborhood Swiftie of a certain age who has once again spent her weekend pouring over clips from The Eras Tour.
As if that wasn’t enough, I also rewatched Miss Americana for the gazillionth time on Saturday morning and cried like it was my first. (This is Taylor’s Netflix doc that came out in January 2020. It’s so fantastic and I know it gave a lot of insight into Taylor for my non-Swiftie friends.)
Anyway, you’d have to be living a very offline, disconnected life to not know that Taylor Swift is currently on the US leg of The Eras Tour, especially after the Ticketmaster debacle—often referred to in the fandom as The Great War1.
I’m sure this brilliant Swiftie’s deck below is much more thorough than what I’ve compiled here. But…same energy. Don’t come for me, Gen Z and the internet. I’m sure there’s stuff I missed!!! It’s okay, just leave comments and remember, like dad2 says, “Treat people with kindness.”
(A shout-out to my friend/fellow Swiftie Ashleigh who helped give this an edit. Love you, girl. May your surprise songs be everything you want them to be.)
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And if you’re not already a paid subscriber, I’m currently running an Eras Tour special where a yearly sub is 13% off—in honor of Taylor. If that number doesn’t make sense to you, keep reading. It will soon enough.
One of the wonderful things, to me, about being in a fandom is the secret language you share with your people. The inside jokes. The quotes you can say to someone without explanation. The way you scream certain things at a live show. Taylor herself loves to cultivate this relationship, what with all her Easter eggs and coded messages and dipping into our comments on social media.
Are we all a lil bit insane because of this? Absolutely, but we wouldn’t want it any other way.
Sure, there are toxic sides of any fandom, but that’s not what I’m getting at here. This is all about the community and the bond.
But, it must be said, that being deep in a fandom doesn’t make you any better than someone else who loves your fave’s music and also wants to go to a show. I’ve been hearing rumors of some mean girls at shows on TikTok and they better not pull that shit anywhere near me. Because one thing a 40-something Scorpio fangirl isn’t gonna do is, uh, tolerate it. That’s not what we’re about, people. Have you never listened to “Mean” or anything about how hard being a kid was for Taylor?!?
We deadass don’t bully. Period.
You should do your show in the way that makes it the most fun for you—and don’t let anyone yuck your yum. If you wanna let your freaky fangirl flag fly, have at it. You know I will. If your vibe is more subtle, that’s awesome too. And all the ways in between. Just be kind and have a fucking blast.
So, what are we doing here you ask?
Maybe you’ve never been to a Taylor show and have your first coming up; maybe you’re newer to the fandom (so many fun friends came onboard during the pandie!) and are trying to decode all the things you’re seeing online right now; maybe you don’t have the time or interest in being sooooo deep in a world because you are capable of just casually digging something or someone (what’s that like?!?); maybe you have a younger person in your life you’re trying to understand better; or maybe you’re just anthropologically curious about such matters.
In no particular order, some information that might interest you about attending The Eras Tour—from the outfits and winking moments to the audience participation songs and much more.
Let’s dive in.
Only Bought This Dress…
Much like a Harry/Love on Tour show, the guys, gals, and non-binary pals are turning up and turning OUT for Taylor/The Eras Tour. There are whole TikTok memes about showing off your look and I find each one as delightful as the next.
Now, in keeping with what I said above: YOU DO YOU. At the show, but also always. To borrow a line from the British Fruit Witch: Be whoever you’ve always wanted to be in that room. If that’s super casual, fab. If you want to go crazy over the top, also fab. Know that you will very much not be alone, no matter what aesthetic you choose. There’s a lot of sparkle and bejeweled gear, for sure. Someone said the trail of jewels is to a Taylor concert as the trail of feathers is to a Harry one—and that feels right.
Look at these superstars.
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Many people are dressing up as their favorite era (which are all based on Taylor’s 10 studio albums, in case you didn’t know). Even Selena Gomez (Folklore, and yes I also own the cardigan) and her lil sister Gracie (Speak Now) got in on the action at Arlington N2. It was very adorable.
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You’re also sure to see people interpreting Taylor’s own looks from music videos and albums covers—but also things she’s worn on red carpets, awards show performances, or simply bopping about town. Or visual representations of favorite songs.
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Everything is on the table, people. If you want to get creative, now is the time. Taylor definitely appreciates all the effort, too. She lives for shit like this. (I know because of that time when she commented about my Junior Jewels Halloween costume on Instagram in 2017, something I will bring up at any given opportunity.)
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You also might come across niche fandom moments and if you don’t know what they mean, feel free to ask another Swiftie or hit me up and I’ll do my best to inform. But seriously, I bet that person would LOVE it if you asked them to explain their vibe. Like, this delightful human dressed as the time Taylor got Lasik, picked the wrong banana, then the right one, which she proceeded to eat in bed while saying, “My mind is alive!” Also, maybe just an alive mind. (Watch the original clip of Taylor here.)
Or her cats: Olivia Benson, Meredith Grey, and Benjamin Button. Maybe that box we think she came in and out of her Tribeca apartment in for a while? Or perhaps a couple’s costume of William Bowery3 (aka Joe Alwyn) and Taylor…”flashback when you met me, your buzzcut and my hair bleached4." Or just Bleachella5 solo!
Ed note: On the evening of April 8, ET reported Taylor and Joe split a few weeks ago (pre-tour) and this was then confirmed by multiple other legitimate outlets. ET’s source said that the breakup was “not dramatic” and that "the relationship had just run its course. It's why [Alwyn] hasn't been spotted at any shows." Karma, however, is still her boyfriend—not that she needs one. Hopefully everyone involved is doing okay.
I also loved the literal Easter eggs. The creativity of Swifties is unmatched and just such fun. We learned from the very best.
Now, I’d also be remiss if I didn’t leave you with a couple sartorial logistics to keep in mind—especially since a lot of us are not actually 22 anymore. This is a long show. Taylor’s set alone is over three hours (and the openers are all INCREDIBLE, don’t miss them!) so think about that when it comes to your footwear choices. I’ve become a total sneaker person at shows myself. Also, be sure to look into your venue’s bag policy re: size, whether your bag is required to be clear, etc.
And send me your looks! I want to see every last one.
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The Number 13
Even the most casual fan of Taylor has probably encountered a 13 in relation to our girl. It is her most favorite number and she uses it alllllll the time. (She was born on December 13, 1989.) She loves to write it on her hand, bedazzle it on her guitar, use it in Easter eggs. It is ever present.
Never fear the 13 in the Swiftverse.
Name That Tune
So, every night of tour Taylor is playing two surprise acoustic songs and the plan is not to repeat any (her catalogue can more than accommodate this)…unless she messes up, which might put a song back in rotation6. But we also learned this weekend that the main set list is not necessarily set either—because of course it’s not. How silly we were to think otherwise. We know Blondie7 all too well. In Arlington, for example, she opened the Folklore era with “The 1” instead of “Invisible String”.
We’re only three weekends in…and she’s already telling us about being “tricksy”. In the Swiftverse, you have to always be on your toes. We love it and, dare I say, thrive on it.
Full spreadsheets are being made and updated (we are an anxious Type A fandom, if nothing else) and the emotional confusion of watching a clip of one of your beloveds live mixed with knowing you’re not gonna get it at your show is very real. But also, these two songs are always amazing, so you’re never going to be let down. You also just might get a special guest, like when Marcus Mumford showed up to do “Cowboy Like Me” in Vegas.
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I also have created a public playlist on my Apple Music with the full set list in order (of course I added “The 1’) and all the surprise songs at the end.
God, what I would give for a “Peace”/”Sweet Nothing” combo, as I’ve always imagined SN as Joe’s response to Taylor’s lyrics in “Peace” that say, “The rain is always gonna come when you’re standing with me…would it be enough if I could never give you peace?” Turns out, he’s just in the kitchen humming, waiting for you to open up about how you’re too soft for all of it, wanting sweet nothing from you, and expressing how much he likes the way your mind works. Sighhhhhhhhh. 8
1, 2, 3…let’s go bitch!!!!
Ah, this one’s a crowd favorite and one Taylor loves very much. And it all started with a teenage fangirl—as so many cool things in this world do.
Emily Valencia was 15 when she randomly shouted, “1, 2, 3, let’s go bitch!” in the middle of “Delicate” at a 2018 Rose Bowl show. Now it lives forever and ever. “It’s the weirdest thing, but that’s what happened,” she told Buzzfeed. She and her friends were posting videos etc in hopes of Taylor noticing them on social media.
The rest…is history.
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So, Taylor will actually count you off on this one, but here’s what you do: During “Delicate” she sings, “We can't make any promises now can we, babe? But you can make me a drink…” and that’s where we come in with “1, 2, 3, let’s go bitch!!!!” before she sings the next line, “Dive bar on the east side, where you at?”
It is extremely cathartic. This is an energy we love to see.
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Willow’s Own 1, 2, 3 Moment?!?
Now, this next situation is not actually a thing yet…but it might become one9. Who can say? It doesn’t take long for such things to take hold in the world of TikTok and viral clips. The British Man barked (low-key Arsenio style) once in Manchester last summer and by the next show at Wembley, we (yes, me included) were all barking loudly and continued to do so at every show after that. Don’t knock it ‘til you try it.
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Anyway, I’m so obsessed with Igor and his reaction during “Willow”.
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On which Taylor commented, as you can see below. (Yes, Blondie is all up on her TikTok after shows. She always knows what we’re up to.)
I mean I wouldn’t be mad at saying, “Summon the demons, bitch.” Would you?!?
The Shirts During “22”
In the Red Era, Taylor dons variations on some of her gear from the original “22” music video and it’s cute AF. Here’s the video. (I absolutely had a hat like that during this time.)
During the show so far, she has worn three different tees modeled after the one in the video that says “NOT A LOT GOING ON AT THE MOMENT”. One reads, “A LOT GOING ON AT THE MOMENT”. Another says, “WHO’S TAYLOR SWIFT ANYWAY? EW”, which is a spoken word part of the song itself. Then she added one that reads, “WE ARE NEVER EVER GETTING BACK TOGETHER. LIKE EVER” which is obviously from that extremely popular single and from same album/era.
Suck it all over again, Jake Gyllenhaal, with your indie records that are much cooler than mine. (But not really.)
As you can see, the words “a lot” and “ew” and “never” and “ever” are in red while the rest of the letters are black. Because Taylor has trained us that she’s always possibly up to something in terms of forecasting and coded messages, there is a theory going around that these are going to spell out something regarding the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). Also, we might be clowns. (A bunch of people got duped yesterday, April 1, by an edited shot that flew around social media with only the W of “ew” in red. This is why I hate April 1 on the internet.)
I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Definitely follow @TheThriftySwiftie on TikTok for great coverage and theories—about this, and tour in general. She’s a sweetheart and is putting in The Work™. I’m so grateful to all these Swifties creating the content that fuels SwifTok.
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The outfits Taylor wears during the show match up to the aesthetic of the era (duh)—and, of course, the costume changes are miracles. I want to know EVERY logistic. But there are also lovely callbacks to the all the actual tours past. Her stylist, Joseph Cassell Falconer, and his team have done a magnificent job. My friend/fellow Swiftie Elana Fishman did a nice roundup of those nostalgic fashion moments here.
To that end, each era’s sort of signature color was part of Taylor’s manicure right before tour kicked off. She loves to tell us shit with her manis.
“Taylor, you’ll be fine!”
In the "Anti-Hero” remix feat. Bleachers, there’s a line that goes “Taylor, you’ll be fine” after she says one of her best written lyrics (IMO), “Do you hear my covert narcissism I disguise as altruism, like some sort of congressman?”
You sing it to the tune of “tale as old as time” from the original song right at that moment during the show, even though she’s not performing that version.
(We also get Jack’s “everybody is an art bro lately” in this remix instead of the “sexy baby” line and I love that it is an equally specific reference. For the record, I think the sexy baby line is great and I refuse to believe it’s not a 30 Rock reference. BTW, Jack is Jack Antonoff, Taylor’s frequent collaborator—and, frankly, another costume you might see at a show, like Jack doing “August” during the Long Pond Sessions would be excellent.)
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Some blessed fans at The 1975 show where T popped up at the O2 in January actually did this even though it was her first time doing the song live. The Venn diagram of these two fandoms is huge. I am in the middle of it.
“You Belong With Me” Double Claps
This is very simple and does not warrant a ton of explanation. You do a double clap after, “I’m the one who makes you laugh, when you know you’re ‘bout to cry.” It’s been happening forever and shall continue to do so.
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The Kendrick Line During “Bad Blood”
There’s the original song “Bad Blood” from Taylor’s perfect 2014 pop album, 1989. And then there’s the remix featuring Kendrick Lamar. Yes, that Kendrick Lamar. People who get it have always gotten Taylor Swift, thank you very much.
This video is also PEAK Squad Era.
This is another audience participation moment that is quite straightforward. After Taylor sings, “Band aids don’t fix bullet holes. You say sorry just for show. If you live like that, you live with ghosts…”, we come in with Kendrick’s line, “You forgive, you forget, but you never let go.”
Put some sauce on it, too, my friends.
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The Karma Dance
This choreography that Taylor does on stage has become A THING on TikTok. It’s simple and catchy and we’re all loving it. Some people will likely do this from their seats, so don’t be surprised.
It was making me crazy for a minute that so many people were doing a certain step wrong. Bless this creator for calling it out.
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Get to practicing. Even people like me who can’t do any real choreo can master it10.
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The Bejeweled Sparkle Dance
Now, this move worked in the other direction. It went from TikTok to Taylor herself, who incorporated it into the show. I’ve mentioned this lil angel Mikael Arellano before, but he came up with this as soon as Midnights dropped. It went viral. Now Mother herself does it every night on stage. I love that content cycle so much.
Here’s Mikael’s original TikTok11 from back in October.
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Here’s Taylor on stage.
I mean, can you imagine?!?
The Fearless Spin + 🫶
One thing about Taylor Swift is that she’s always going to recognize how much her own history is so deeply entwined with that of her fans—and she’s gonna give us those nostalgic moments on stage.
Like, the Fearless spin and the heart hands.
🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺
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Make the Friendship Bracelets
While “You’re On Your Own, Kid” from Midnights is not currently on the main set list, it has inspired one of my favorite Eras Tour trends: the exchanging of friendship bracelets.
It comes from these lyrics that never fail to make me mist up:
‘Cause there were pages turned with the bridges burned
Everything you lose is a step you take
So make the friendship bracelets
Take the moment and taste it
You've got no reason to be afraid
So, people are bringing bracelets and exchanging and collecting them at shows. It’s so camp—not like Susan Sontag’s Notes On “Camp”—but actual camp. I plan on bringing some of my own to Chicago, though I will likely order mine and not make them because I’m terrible at crafts and old enough to know when to delegate to someone more skilled. A woman who volunteers at a different location of my beloved grief camp has a company called Beads for Proceeds, so I need to shoot her a DM and see if I can buy a custom batch from her. I’m thinking something like, “Fangirls never get old” or some such, but am extremely open to other suggestions. And of course I’m going to ask for the donations to go to Experience Camps.
I just love this vibe so much.
Selena’s sister Gracie gave one to Taylor in Arlington. Cue the awwwwwws.
Of course, I’m going to love a version that also involves a Haim fandom joke. The three Haim sisters—Este, Danielle, and Alana—are some of Taylor’s closest friends. They are featured on the song “No Body, No Crime” from Evermore and she sings on a bangin’ remix of their song “Gasoline”. They will also be opening for some Eras shows on the west coast later this year and play the wicked stepsisters in the “Bejeweled” video, directed by their bestie herself. (She writes and directs all her videos now and has for some time, in case you didn’t know.)
It kills me that I was not present for this last year in London. If Taylor is the 4th Haim sister, I would very much like to be the 5th. I think I have the hair + vibes for it, if not the musical talent.
But back to the bracelets. I need these so badly.
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If you are not a Haim person (seriously, check them out…they are one of my most beloved bands and I was lucky to see them live twice on their tour last year), you may not get this reference. But the sisters love to do silly shit on IG and TikTok and made this lil viral ditty that is a real delight. It’s perfect in its lyrical simplicity:
“I’m gonna be hungover. I’m gonna be hungover. I’m gonna drink a bunch of different drinks and I’m gonna be hungover.”
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So, yeah. Make the bracelets and know that you’re never really on your own, kid, even if you go to a show solo. Which I also highly recommend!!
The Bridges
Just in general, one of a Swiftie’s main reasons for being is a Taylor bridge. If you’re attending a show, that probably means you love them too. As the jokes go, she may not have an engineering degree, but nobody has built more perfect bridges. Yada, yada, yada. They go on and on—and they are correct.
Your first major one comes on song #2, “Cruel Summer”.
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Loverfest got canceled because of the pandemic, so we’ve been practicing this one at Taylor nights in bars—or, you know, alone in our apartments—for a while. Back in those days when we were still pretty much on lockdown but Australians could go out, I watched about 200000000000 videos of people scream singing these lyrics in clubs and dreamed of the day when I’d get to do it myself.
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If you wish to partake in these moments, get thee to lyric videos, etc., of the songs on the main set list and start practicing. You won’t be sorry and you’ll probably be enchanted to meet some of the lyrics if they’re new to you.
The bridge is one of the main reason a lot of us lost our minds when she did “Death by a Thousand Cuts” at Arlington N2 as one of the surprises. She did said bridge multiple times and flubbed it once, so maybeeeee there’s still a chance I get to see it live. (I’m still not ready to talk about “Clean”. Maybe I will be by Friday’s newsletter and the Tour Diary update I do each week.)
“All Too Well (Ten Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version)” is obviously incredibly important in this category, but so are many others.
I’m going to suggest going hard on “Champagne Problems”, one of my favorite songs. Ever. We’ve been gearing up to scream sing, “She would have made such a lovely bride, what a shame she’s fucked in the head” since the day Evermore dropped out of the sky like a sad girl miracle. Blondie has too, as she told Zane Lowe during (virtual) album promo.
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Mama Swift
In general, it’s important to know and recognize Taylor’s mom, Andrea. (We see you, dad Scott—but it’s always been Andrea. I think you know this, too.)
Taylor and her mom are SO close. It’s very lovely and the fandom is extremely connected to Andrea, as well—especially seeing as so many of them grew up right alongside Taylor and her music. I know I mention this song often these days (ohhhhh, Mother’s Day season when you’re in the Dead Moms Club!), but if you’d like some insight into how Taylor feels about her mom, listen to “The Best Day (Taylor’s Version)” and watch the video. It’s just everything.
For years, Andreas’s been grabbing fans at shows to take them to better seats or to meet Taylor—though I don’t think we’ll be seeing that during Eras, for myriad reasons. (There has been tell of some possible official Taylor Nation seat upgrading happening inside the venues though. So again, stay alert in case that is indeed a thing.) I know I was beside myself catching a glimpse of her near our floor seats at Rep tour. (Yes, I was in my 40s. You’re never too old to be excited about any damn thing. End of story.)
Andrea has also had a doozy of a cancer battle on her hands (more than once), so seeing her happy and (seemingly) healthy, bopping out at the first Eras show was wonderful.
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Taylor doesn’t talk about it much, but has said that her mother’s health is a huge consideration for how she arranges her life and her tours. Understandably. This is why Loverfest was more limited than her past tours—although it never ended up happening because of Covid.
“I have priorities that aren't just touring now, and [the fans] have been really respectful of that in the past,” she said. “This is where the rubber meets the road and I actually have to make decisions. Where there are question marks in my life and things that are really important to me and my family, I have to be able to have some breathing room in my touring schedule and I think they kind of understand that.”
She also wrote for Elle in 2019 that, “It’s taught me that there are real problems and then there’s everything else. My mom’s cancer is a real problem. I used to be so anxious about daily ups and downs. I give all of my worry, stress, and prayers to real problems now.”
That’s some relatable stuff right there. And it makes a Mama Swift celebrity sighting all the better.
PHEW. Okay, I think that covers a LOT of the bases—though certainly not all. Please feel free to drop your own knowledge in the comments.
If you’re looking for more Eras coverage, I wrote about my manic thoughts after the first weekend here and my fantasy set list here (pre-first show + I woefully underestimated how many songs she’d do!) I include lil recaps in the Friday edition of this newsletter and also curate social clips on my IG Stories after each show, for those who are interested. And you’re sure to here some audio notes each week on the WHN podcast, which comes out on Thursdays in all the usual places.
Talk soon 🫶
xA
This is a song from the 3 AM extended edition of Taylor’s most recent album, Midnights.
People who are both Harry and Taylor stans often refer to ourselves as “children of divorce”. No, it does not matter one lick that both of these “parents” are decidedly younger than me. Yes, I have a tank top to this effect and am low-key considering wearing it to a show.
William Bowery is Joe’s pseudonym when he writes songs with Taylor. She revealed this on the Long Pond Sessions. Said credits include such masterpieces as “Betty”, “Exile”, “Champagne Problems”, “Coney Island”, “Evermore”, and “Sweet Nothing”. Oh, and he’s also a lovely actor (The Favourite, Conversations with Friends) along with having a side hustle writing music. They’ve been together for 6+ years and like to stay quite private, which we love for them. Ed note: On April 8, multiple outlets reported that Taylor and Joe split up before tour started but that it was “not dramatic”.
A lyric from “Dress” which you will find on Reputation. It’s def in the top 5 of Taylor’s horniest songs. Though my vote for #1 remains “False God” from Lover.
Bleachella is a micro-era in the Swiftverse, circa spring 2016 when she bleached her hair for a Vogue cover/co-hosting the Met Gala. I looooooooooved it.
I first wrote this back at the beginning of the Eras Era in April 2023. We know now that Taylor reset the surprise songs for 2024 and put everything back on the table. We don’t yet know if she will be adding a section for the The Tortured Poets Department to the main setlist once it drops on April 19. She has a break in the tour from March 9 until May 9, so there is time to make a change should she want to.
We lovingly refer to Taylor as Blondie in the fandom.
Added footnote: Well, this is all hitting v. differently after the breakup news. Thank goodness we love big feelings around these parts.
Dear Reader: It did NOT become a thing. But it was still funny when it happened that one time.
I dance like a Deadhead to pretty much everything and I’m fine with that.
If you don’t spend time on TikTok, it really is SO MUCH MORE than dances. But these are the times I love to get them in my feed.
Love it