Magical. Truly, there is no other way to describe it. It being the Eras Tour, a year-long concert tour performed by Taylor Swift and her team. I had the pleasure of attending night two of the show in Miami, and all I can say is that I experienced every emotion in the book.
The night began with a beautiful opening performance by none other than Gracie Abrams, a lyrically gifted songwriter who has collaborated with Taylor since the beginning of the tour. As a dedicated fan since 2021, it was so fulfilling to watch her progress from smaller venue performances to a fully sold-out stadium. If you weren’t a fan before the show, you would most certainly become one after witnessing the synchronous flashlights waving from thousands of phones, a customary sign that a performer “makes it.”
After about an hour or so, it was time. Unfortunately for me, I was standing ever so impatiently in the line for the bathroom while the countdown clock reached one minute. As soon as I discovered hundreds of sequin-lined skirts and cowboy boots racing out to the front, I realized that I probably needed to be in my seat…
The next 3.5 hours were a blur of Taylor’s eleven different “eras,” from her self-titled debut album to the newest release of “The Tortured Poet’s Department.” Singing along to each performance and joining in with the crowd’s fan projects brought out the sense of community that I was looking forward to. It was interesting to find out what everyone had come up with, from waving our hands to the beat of the song “You Need to Calm Down” to trading friendship bracelets before the show.
Soon came the most anticipated part of the concert: the surprise songs. If you aren’t familiar with this topic, I suggest you catch up on the hundreds of TikToks, Instagram reels, and grainy live streams. Each show includes a rare performance of randomly chosen songs from Taylor’s discography, and fans absolutely lose it when they miss their favorite by one night (speaking from experience).
After nearly losing my voice and shedding quite a few tears, I found myself in awe of the show that I had just witnessed. The remarkable result was that I was forced to rely on the hundreds of videos on my phone since I couldn’t remember anything. Dr. Joey Gee, a neurologist at Providence Mission Hospital in California explains that “our attention and focus tend to be on enjoying an event and not necessarily on the details,” creating a sense of post-concert amnesia (HuffPost).
Still, the Eras Tour was one of the most incredible experiences of my life, and I highly recommend joining any available giveaways, 4-hour Ticketmaster queue lines, or even last-minute ticket offers at the actual concert. You never know, you might get lucky!
