Growing up with Taylor Swift

A closer look at the Eras Tour hype

It goes without saying that Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour has become a pop culture phenomenon, but I’m going to say it anyway. It’s the ticket of the year, with fans and celebrities flocking to sold out stadiums and posting pictures of their friendship bracelets and red lipstick on social media. I was fortunate enough to attend Night 4 of the Eras Tour in Los Angeles this week and, despite all the recaps and videos circulating online, I went in mostly blind. Because I’m 33 weeks pregnant and have to pee every half hour, I did download a copy of the setlist in advance so I could schedule my bathroom breaks. But I was otherwise blissfully unprepared for the magic the night had in store. 

If you’re not familiar with Taylor’s full repertoire, you may know her best as the voice behind pop anthems like “Shake It Off” and “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” While catchy, these bops barely scratch the surface of Taylor’s true prowess: penning poignant songs that pack an emotional punch. As a writer and storyteller, Taylor possesses the remarkable ability to put her experiences on paper and allow her fans to reflect on their own. I’m not just talking about first loves, breakups, and broken hearts. Some of my favorite Taylor songs are about grief, self-discovery, and rebuilding. And, ultimately, that’s where the link between Taylor and her fans is strongest: when she sings her rawest lyrics and we sing along, we are connecting. We have felt what she has felt, and it creates a powerful sense of identification and belonging. 

A friend recently asked me if I could explain the massive hype surrounding the Eras Tour and I outlined three primary causes. 1) TikTok. Many of Taylor’s older songs have become trending TikTok sounds over the last few years, allowing a new generation to discover her music. Her shows have been packed with mothers and young daughters and groups of Gen Z friends and traditions (like the infamous friendship bracelets and chants during specific songs) have also been passed down via TikTok. 2) Buildup. Taylor hasn’t toured in 5 years and, in that time, released 3 new albums (Lover, Folklore, evermore). Fans have been eagerly awaiting live performances of these new songs and the anticipation — coupled with a collective post-pandemic desire for IRL experiences — created a massive buildup to her next tour. 3) Chaos. High demand plus Ticketmaster’s epic fail during the tour’s presale left fans panicked and in a frenzy for tickets. This sent prices soaring on resale sites and continued to snowball across social media. 

There is another force behind the Eras Tour phenomenon, and it’s the camp I fall into: millennials who grew up with Taylor. We’re in our 30s now and life has gotten real since we first met Taylor. Burnout, babies, breakups, bills — many of us have needed an escape, and the Eras Tour delivered.

Taylor and I are the same age – we’re both born in 1989 – and I was in college when her second and third albums (Fearless and Speak Now) were released. It was an innocent time: Taylor was singing about crushes and falling in love (“You Belong With Me,” “Love Story,” “Sparks Fly”) while I lived my own versions of the same stories. I met and fell hard for my college boyfriend and we embarked on a romance that was both whimsical and volatile. 

In 2012, after we broke up and I graduated from college, I moved to New York City with a broken heart and a lot of bandage skirts. Five months later, Taylor released her fourth album, Red, which contained songs about unhealthy relationships, confusion, frustration, and jealousy (“I Knew You Were Trouble,” “All Too Well,” “Begin Again”). Every intense lyric seemed to mirror my own emotional state and made me feel less alone. One song in particular – “22” – became an anthem. (We're happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time / It's miserable and magical). It was like Taylor was talking to me and only me: I was 22 and felt wildly lost, confused, and lonely. My college friend and roommate, Sami, and I belted the bridge in our apartment as we drank wine. We were both treading through early adulthood with similar degrees of confusion and vague optimism. 

Sami and me at 22 in NYC; happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time.

Over the next decade, Taylor and I continued to grow up together. I walked the city – to dates and job interviews – alongside her odes to Manhattan (“Welcome To New York,” “Cornelia Street”). Her lyrics narrated the more challenging parts of my twenties, like early sobriety (“Clean” is about her experience replacing old unhealthy habits with new ones) and my mom’s battle with breast cancer (Taylor wrote “Soon You’ll Get Better” about her own mother’s cancer diagnosis). 

Even when it was just playing in the background, Taylor’s music was the soundtrack to major life moments. When Adam and I first started dating, one of my favorite Taylor songs (“Delicate”) was my alarm clock. I would open my eyes to those early notes and giddily pick up my phone to see what my crush had texted. As a writer, I continued to be profoundly inspired by Taylor’s storytelling abilities. Two years later, I wrote most of my book, Drinking Games, to Folklore and evermore, albums Taylor released during the pandemic. I was still grieving the loss of my beloved grandparents (my grandfather passed away in November 2020; my grandmother in December 2021) and I found deep comfort in a song off evermore about Taylor’s late grandmother (“Marjorie”). 

I went to Monday night’s concert with my friend Sami (see: our “22” era) which felt especially fitting. We grew up with Taylor and with each other. The stadium was bursting at the seams with other young adults who have also been walking alongside Taylor for the last 17 years. We encountered them in the parking lot, in the bathroom lines, in our seats. They smiled at my belly and traded homemade friendship bracelets. We cheered for Taylor and for ourselves; her setlist was a journey through all that we’ve overcome together, an emotional catharsis that rivaled the best therapy session. When Taylor sang “Marjorie” and her grandmother’s vocals filled the stadium (she was a former opera singer), I bawled. (I actually should not listen to that song while driving because I still have yet to get through it without weeping.) The baby kicked all night long and I marveled at the fact that, someday, this would be another stage of life I looked back on through the lens of Taylor’s music. At the end of the night, a stranger sitting in the row behind us tapped me on the shoulder to share videos she had taken of Sami and I singing and dancing because it looked like we were having so much fun together. 

In the end, I think that’s really why people are so hyped on the Eras Tour. It’s fun. Taylor is clearly having the time of her life on stage, and we’re right there with her. What else is there to do but sing along?

Sami and me at the Eras Tour in LA.

Is there an artist whose music you grew up with? What songs are linked to your most vivid memories? I’d love to hear!

Xx

Sarah