Swifties Packed Gillette in May

Images of Gillette Stadium from May 19th-21st look like this: rain and sun, massive lines, people camping, traffic backed up for hours, and thousands of fans from every generation dressed to honor the joy and excitement that defines Taylor Swift.

Throughout Swift’s recent concert weekend, she incorporated nine of ten albums and presented them as “eras” during The Eras Tour. Swift changed her outfits, backdrops, and props according to each album she performed. 

The weekend started on Friday with high energy from the crowd. Every night Swift played two surprise songs, one on the guitar and the other on the piano. On Friday, she sang “Should’ve Said No” from her debut album as her guitar song. The piano song was “Better Man” from her album Red (Taylor’s Version). SHS students lucky enough to attend Friday night’s concert had nothing but positive responses. Noting how much they enjoyed the nice weather, sophomores Jane Steele and Grace Taylor said the Reputation Era was the best. When asked what they enjoy about Swift’s music, they praised her “intelligent” songwriting.

On Saturday night, thousands of dedicated “Swifties” stood in the pouring rain for three and a half hours, but the monsoon didn’t bother them. The rain never let up during the concert, and Swift sometimes had to wipe the water off her piano. The surprise songs for this night were “Question…?” from her most recent album Midnights and “Invisible” from her oldest album, known as her debut album. Sophomore Kelsie Modder, who attended night two, said her favorite part of the concert was the Speak Now Era and Reputation Era. Modder enjoys Swift’s originality, commenting that Swift is different from other artists in how she produces music and makes it her own. After the concert, fans trekked through puddles up to their ankles while celebrating the fun-filled experience.

Sunday night, Swift’s final Boston performance during The Eras Tour, marked her thirteenth performance at Gillette. This was significant because thirteen is Swift’s “lucky number.” Everyone was so excited about the surprise songs, thinking they would hear “Long Live” from her Speak Now album. However, Swift played both of her surprise songs, “I Think He Knows” from her Lover album and “Red” from her album Red (Taylor’s Version) on her guitar, which was unusual. Unfortunately, her piano was damaged–or“broken” during the rain storm on Saturday night. Junior Lindsay Thurling, who went to the third concert, enjoyed the whole show, but her favorite “era” performed by Swift was the 1989 Era. Her favorite songs were “All Too Well (Ten Minute Version)” and “Cruel Summer.” Thurling thinks Swift is a talented performer and likes what she stands for: Swift is known to support women, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and other marginalized groups. Thurling looks up to Swift as an artist and role model. 

The Eras Tour performance at Gillette successfully brought together thousands of Taylor Swift fans–especially as they waited over two hours to exit the stadium after the event of a lifetime.