Taylor Swiftkicked off The Eras Tour in Glendale, Arizona, on Friday, and thousands of fans poured into State Farm Stadium wearing outfits inspired by Swift’s albums.
Leaders with the city of Glendale said they anticipated about 70,000 fans to pack into the stadium each night. Taylor was last on tour for Reputation in 2018, which also opened in Glendale.
Eager fans began lining up before the stadium gates opened, eager to see their idol on stage.
Swift was very tight-lipped about her 52-concert tour, only revealing to die-hard fans that it would be a journey through her career eras (past and present). The night before her tour kicked off, she released four songs at midnight.
Outside State Farm Stadium fans belted out their favorite Swift songs.
"Don't blame me; love made me crazy; if it doesn't, you ain't doing it right," Juliana Soza, her sister, and best friend Isaly Cintas sang out loud.
Swifties from across the nation traveled to Arizona to catch opening night. Elle Arguello, who is now 8 years old, says her parents drove over from Colorado to take her to the concert. She says she’s been singing Swift's songs since she was three. Arguello made her way into the concert with the hopes Swift would sing "Our Song" from her debut album.
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Nolan and Seth Weidling wore Swiftie shirts to the concert. The engaged couple says they plan to play all their favorite Swift songs at their wedding in August.
Seth Weidling’s shirt read, "Seeing my husband's face light up when he sees Taylor Swift again—priceless."
Sarah Fuller wore a bedazzled silver dress with matching boots inspired by Swift’s 1989 album and "shake it off song". She says she’s loved Swift since she was 14 years old, and now she’s 30. She says she purchased tickets to watch Swift perform on stage multiple times this year. Fuller carried a clear purse with a photo of her and Swift. She added that she has met Swift several times.
Swift even inspired the city of Glendale to fulfill fans' "Wildest Dreams."
"On behalf of our city council, I do here proclaim that on March 17 and 18, 2023, the city of Glendale will be renamed Swift City," Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers said at a press conference.
For many fans, calling the tour "highly anticipated" is an understatement; thousands spent hours and hundreds of dollars to secure a ticket to the show.
Nolan and Seth Weidling said they spent five hours trying to lock in their tickets.
Lejla Huskic said she paid $400 for floor seats. She says this Swift concert is about $100 more than what she's paid in the past. A mother who surprised her 13-year-old daughters with Swift tickets says she paid $1,000 per ticket.
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Some Arizona fans say they used SeatGeek and scored affordable tickets, but tens of thousands of fans who logged into Ticketmaster to purchase pre-sale tickets became infuriated with the website's meltdown.
Fans complained about long waits, high ticket prices, and fees.
A group of Swifties filed a lawsuit against Ticketmaster. The company was grilled by Democrat and Republican lawmakers who questioned if the company's dominance in the ticketing industry led to the meltdown during the sale of Swift's concert.
The company said the site was overwhelmed by fans and attacks from bots posing as consumers to purchase tickets to later post on resale sites.
"I will say that I think all the fees on tickets like that, on top of the ticket prices, are ridiculous," Nolan Weidling said.
Despite the debacle "nothing last forever" and fans of all ages focused on their idol and how her words and songs have helped them overcome their darkest momenets in life.
"Her song Fearless is one of the ones that was like super powerful for me because there's a point in my life where I got super, super dark and I almost did something really stupid to myself," Nolan Weidling said. "That song came on the radio, and it's what stopped me in my tracks, and I was like, okay, now this isn't going to happen. Like, this has to keep going. I can be fearless. And it goes back to her quote: "Fearless isn't living without fear; it's living in spite of those fears."
