Article by Kyle Brown, Photos provided by TAS Rights Management
Edited by Sami Knox
Indianapolis hosted the final tour stop in the North American leg of Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour this past weekend. Over 207,000 people attended the three shows at Lucas Oil Stadium, setting a new attendance record for the venue.
Before the concert fun even began, concertgoers and Swifties without a ticket were able to walk around downtown and participate in a scavenger hunt of sorts, which included 32 road signs featuring Swift’s song titles. A 330-foot mural of Swift was plastered on the JW Marriot, where pre- and after-parties were held, while other areas of the city featured events with food trucks, photo stations, and places to trade friendship bracelets—a tradition that emerged during the tour.
Local businesses even got into the fun, creating Swift-themed drinks, friendship bracelets, and more. The Children’s Museum hosted Swift-themed activities for kids and the Indy Zoo participated in the celebrations too.
Gates at the Lucas Oil Stadium opened at 4:30 p.m., but fans were lined up hours in advance. We arrived just before 9 a.m. for a good parking spot and some people were already starting to line up, braving the cold and wind to be one of the first to get in.
Gracie Abrams opened the concert and took a moment after her first song to thank Swift and her team for the opportunity. “I was backstage when it hit me—this is the last U.S. stop of this tour,” she said and went on to ask the fans for a round of applause for the crews. She also expressed how grateful she was for the support she had received from everyone across the tour.
As Abrams moved to the next song, it was evident Swift picked the right opening act. The entire venue seemed to know all of her songs. The audience echoed the lyrics right back to Abrams and her band.
At one point, audience members would light up the entire stadium with their phone flashlights, which prompted Abrams to let out a huge grin. That moment made her performance feel even more powerful.
Midway through the set, Abrams emerged from the back of the stage and used the huge stage to her advantage. Walking, spinning, and dancing around, you could tell Abrams was savoring the moment.
The crowd made hand hearts and waved when she came towards them and Abrams would do the same. It was so easy to see how much this meant to her. The sad-girl pop genre artist used her powerful vocals to easily slice through her songs and ended the set with “Close to You” while not a single person was sitting down, but rather on their feet jumping around.
If you are a Swiftie, you know what it means when “Applause” by Lady Gaga comes on. It’s Swift’s way of saying, “Fasten your seatbelts, the ride is about to begin.” The song ends with a countdown clock of two-and-a-half minutes.
I have been to a lot of concerts of nearly every genre. I have never in my life heard such a loud cheer when Swift made her appearance on stage for the first time, singing “Cruel Summer.” I wish Lucas Oil Stadium had a reading on how loud it got because it had to be one, if not the loudest, cheers in that stadium ever.
Looking around the venue during the show, you could see Swift’s fans were of all ages. From little tykes to preteens to adults of every age. Everyone was enjoying the moment. When a fan-favorite song came on, they were not afraid to belt it out. A feeling many Swifties have come to experience during her shows is a feeling of safety. No matter how you identify, what you stand for, or whether you are male, female, trans, etc., you feel safe and not judged. Fans could dress in their favorite clothing based on their favorite era and receive compliments all day long. I have never seen anything like it. The culture Swift has created is very refreshing.
Let’s talk about the performance though! As someone who isn’t a Swiftie by any means, this show will go down as one of my personal favorites to date. During the three-and-a-half-hour show, you’d expect it to be slow at times, but that was not the case here. Even during the acoustic performance, it was still high energy.
Upon arrival, you received a bracelet. These bracelets became part of the show, as they would change colors and make hearts in the crowd as the songs were performed.
Swift showered the crowd with hit song after hit song, with barely any breaks in between. Her outfit changes for each era were routine, quick, and downright fun to watch what she came out with next and how she got there. The background dancers and singers were in sync with every move and every word. The lights and gigantic video board made it feel like you were part of the show no matter what seat you had.
About halfway through the set, after performing on a piano, the crowd let out a thunderous applause that lasted about 3 minutes. Surprised, she removed both earpieces to take it all in, as fans clapped, yelled, and chanted, “Taylor! Taylor! Taylor!” After a few minutes, Swift was finally able to get a word in and quickly moved on to her next song.
Pulling out all the stops, Swift later rode on a moving platform that fans have dubbed “the Roomba.”
The Era’s Tour was a road map of how Swift became a global superstar in her 18 years of fame. Each era takes fans back down memory lane. Although the tour still has a few more stops, it has already become the highest-grossing concert tour in history.
But that isn’t all. The tour is 149 shows, each lasting 3.5 hours. Swift has sold out every show. When the ticket sales began, demand was so high it crashed Ticketmaster. Over 10 acts were invited to share the stage with Swift. Over 40 songs were performed each night across five continents. She released two re-recorded albums and premiered an Eras Tour movie during the tour. Venue attendance records were broken, and celebrities from across the entertainment world attended.
She did all of that, and not once did you hear a complaint. Not once was Swift in the news for anything negative.
Backed by a phenomenal band, backup dancers, lighting and stage setup, and production crew, the entire Swift camp proved why she is the world’s biggest pop star. And there’s still more to come.