The Eras Tour Takes CHS by Storm

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ITS BEEN A LONG TIME COMING: The Era’s Tour box sent out to those with VIP tickets

Myana Brown, Staff Writer

52 dates, 10 albums, 44 songs, and 3 hours make up the projected fourth highest grossing tour of all time, Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour

The shows kicked off in Glendale, Arizona, lovingly renamed Swift City for the weekend of March 17th. Since the tour started, Swift has performed 19 shows. Each show contains two surprise songs, one on the piano and one on the guitar. Fans have expressed their excitement for the surprise songs on TikTok, keeping track of the songs she has already sung and hoping for a special one at their show. Freshman Lyric Koch is going on Friday, May 12th and said “I hope [Swift] will play ‘Ronan’ and ‘Bigger Than The Whole Sky.’” The surprise songs are very important to fans due to the rule of not repeating surprise songs unless Swift messes them up or if it is a song from Midnights.

This weekend, Swift travels to Philadelphia to perform at the Lincoln Financial Field. Venue policy states that all bags brought into the venue must be clear and not exceed 12″ x 6″ x 12” On all three nights this weekend, the show begins with the openers at 6:30 P.M. EST, and Swift comes on around an hour and a half later at 8:00 P.M. EST. The show is set to end around 11:00 P.M., meaning a three hour long set.

The whole time Swift puts on a non-stop amazing show, with all of the costume changes, backup dancers, and the props she uses. Swift does 16 costume changes during the show, some eras have multiple changes and some costumes even have multiple variations, such as the outfit for ‘22’ and ‘Enchanted’. Whilst most may assume a three hour long set is unnecessary and overkill, it was necessary so that Swift could cover all ten of her albums, four of which she has never toured due to COVID-19.

Taylor Swift isn’t the only one wearing extravagant outfits, fans have spent hundreds of dollars on an outfit for a single show. Some may opt to use what they have in their closet, others purchase entirely new outfits that are so grandiose they likely won’t be worn again. This is a huge difference from even ten years ago when most Swifties would wear regular clothes like jeans and a t-shirt to the concerts. 

Unlike other states, Pennsylvania gets shows in two different cities, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, totaling five dates, likely because Pennsylvania is Swift’s birth state. Carlisle is in Central PA, giving CHS students easy access to both cities and Swifties have an easier time making it to the tour, assuming they were able to get tickets despite the Ticketmaster debacle. Periscope ran a survey asking when Carlisle High School students are attending the concert and out of those who answered, 9 are going to a Philadelphia show and 2 are going to a Pittsburgh show. 

The Eras Tour is the first tour Swift has gone on since her Reputation Stadium Tour in 2018. Most people currently in highschool would have been between 8 and 12 years old at the time, meaning a parent or another adult would have had to purchase the tickets and take them to the concert. Because of that, many people are having the same experience as junior Sophie Akujobi who is having her “first Taylor Swift concert… despite having been a Swiftie since [she] was little so [she is] just excited to finally be able to see [Swift] in all of her fabulous glory.” Fans who have already seen Swift in concert still have plenty to look forward to because every show is a new experience.