The world-renowned singer’s Eras Tour, attended by over 10.1 million fans (including yours truly) has taken its final bow, its last, “Oh hi!” It’s last, “For the last time, no!” Its last 22 hat giveaway, last surprise song mashup, and last game of Mastermind. If any of this sounds familiar to you, you’re probably a Swiftie, the dubbed name for the diehard Taylor Swift fans. Now that The Eras Tour has wrapped up, it’s time to recount some of the fan’s (and singers!) traditions, old and new, that were formed by the massive scope of the tour. This includes a traditional trading of friendship bracelets based on one of Swift’s lyrics … if you know you know. The Swift family have been known for picking the lucky young Swiftie who wins the 22 hat, which Taylor herself gives out on stage during the song “22,” as part of the “Red Era.” This has been a signature of the tour since it began, and on the inside of the hat is a message from Swift, including the date of the show.
And let’s not forget the popular app Mastermind, where fans can pick which outfits and surprise songs they think Swift will choose for their show location. Yes, there’s a lot of traditions, old and new, and we hope this article covers most of them, along with comments from Swifties who attended the tour in person, or watched through a livestream at home. Either way, we think Swift deserves a well-earned break to enjoy her signature cinnamon cookie recipe and time with boyfriend Travis Kelcie until her next project, while we cover the tour traditions, either formed recently, or during the past two years of The Eras Tour.
Perhaps the most popular tradition of The Eras Tour has been the coveted friendship bracelets, traded from fan to fan, or given to Swift and the singer’s family at the tour venue. Friendship bracelets have become so popular from the singer’s tour that they are now seen being given to celebrities at Comic Cons, even at the movies by AMC for the Eras Tour movie release, or at other show venues altogether (Olivia Rodrigo, Guts Tour, or Chappell Roan, Rise and Fall of a Midwestern Princess.) The bracelets themselves are challenging to make, with tiny beads and string in danger of falling apart if it’s not tied the right way. But once completed, it’s sure to make a memorable experience that can even be turned into another project, including dresses and coats made entirely from different traded bracelets. Some Swifties have used professional bracelet making kits. The bracelets can feature anything from favorite songs (“All Too Well,” “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me”), album titles, (Reputation, Fearless), or references to football as a nod to Kelcie.
Swift herself has come up with traditions while performing songs from each era, some based on fan’s responses to her live performances. Swift has taken to screaming “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” and whispering the next line, “You Should be,” a change from the album song after hearing the fans singing along in the audience. A perfect example of one of her female rage songs. Others include “Mad Woman” (Folklore), “Look What You Made Me Do” (Reputation), and “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” (Tortured Poet’s Departement). There are many more to list, but it’s more cathartic than anything to scream the lyrics along with Swift and a million voices echoing in tandem. Another expected thing Swift does is watch her close friend Kam, one of the dancers, literally bend over backwards trying to make her laugh during her song “Bejeweled.”
In a special performance edition included in the new set list for The Tortured Poets Department (Swift’s newest album as of April, 2024), Travis Kelcie appeared during “I Can Do it with a Broken Heart,” in a sketch performed by the backup dancers. Kelcie carries her on stage to the awaiting audience. He later said in an interview, “The only instruction I had was, ‘Don’t drop Taylor.’”
The popular, fan-created app Mastermind challenges fans to guess her tour outfits and songs. The more you guessed correctly, the more points you got on the leadership board. Simple enough, right? Well, no. This writer only got about half of the outfits right (but guessed the right surprise songs!).
After seeing Taylor once in 2012 and thinking I’d never get to go again, the Eras Tour was one of the best nights of my life. The tradition that most sticks with me is the fans in the concert venue walking through the streets of Liverpool together, as a collective fandom, and singing their favorite songs from the night as a million voices rolled into one cathartic song. This is what The Eras Tour will be remembered for most, connecting people from all around the world into one wild, 3.5-hour, 10-studio album, with sparkled glitter “on the floor after the party” (New Year’s Day).
As the singer poetically put it in her last instagram post about Vancouver Night Four, “It was rare, I was there, I remember it.”
Photo: Paolo Villanueva, Flickr