ISSUE 4: Meet Taylor Swift at Midnight at The Eras Tour
She’s truly a mastermind.
Photo Courtesy of Catie Powell
Swift walks out onto the stage during her opening song of the show, “Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince.”
April 21, 2023
In addition to prom, there was one event many knights had been excitingly awaiting for: Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tours. From Thursday, April 13 to Saturday, April 15, Swift performed three sold-out shows at Raymond James Stadium here in Tampa, Fla. After five new releases and two re-recordings, Swift was ready to show the world her journey through the different eras of her career.
The Eras Tour is Swift’s first tour since 2018. To no one’s surprise, seats sold out within minutes, leaving many ecstatic fans disappointed. As a result, Swift announced 26 additional shows, including two more to the original Tampa show.
“Getting tickets was extremely difficult,” Heath Berman (’26) said. “In the original sale, I managed to get tickets to a show in Minneapolis. But for the show I went to in Tampa, I had to hunt for tickets on third-party resale apps.”
Thousands of fans filed into the stadium in their themed outfits for all three nights. The show lasted three hours with Swift performing 44 songs with no breaks in between. Long-time Swiftie Sabrina Gonzalez (’24) had the opportunity to experience Swift’s tour close and upfront in floor seats on her first night in Tampa.
“I loved Taylor since I was, like, in first grade, so I guess I love her for the nostalgia of her older popular music, but her recent stuff is just really good lyrically and also in composition,” Gonzalez said. “I have never been to a concert, so I thought experiencing all the eras of Taylor in one long concert sounded pretty cool.”
With so many people coming to Tampa for the tour, one can imagine getting around to be a disaster. Although it could be beneficial for some businesses in the city, many are stuck in traffic for hours just trying to get home after a long day of work.
“We got there not super early, at 4 p.m.,” Gonzalez said. “The traffic was really bad, but we got dropped off so we wouldn’t have to scramble for a parking space. A lot of the roads were closed.”
Not to mention, a crucial component of any concert is the outfit. Ever since the announcement of the tour, Swifies have been flooding the internet with potential outfit concepts. All sorts have ideas have been thought of, from a champagne bottle to a refrigerator. Catie Powell (’25), a “Lover” stan, decided to attend the concert dressed in bright pink.
“This album is a great summer album and Taylor always seems to be having a lot of fun when she’s performing it. I also love the colors for the album,” Powell said.
No matter the number of challenges there were and the amount of preparations everyone did, it was all worth it in the end as these Robinson students gather with other Swifties to enjoy the show.
Swift opened Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince” from her “Lover” album and ended the show with “Karma” from her most recent album, “Midnights.” All the eras except for her debut era were represented, with a heavier emphasis on her newer releases.
“My experience was absolutely incredible. We were so close to the stage and could see everything. There was even one point when Taylor’s dad handed us guitar picks. I loved the mix of old and new songs and the energy surrounding the entire stadium. I honestly don’t think I will ever be able to top this concert,” Maya Tahiri (’23) said.
