By Maddy Cooper
The clock ticks down.
13, 12, 11…
The air feels electric.
Tens of thousands of fans fill the stadium.
Pink and purple and blue lights cast onto a diamond-shaped stage.
A string of lyrics echoes as a figure dressed in sequins and rhinestones appears, igniting the crowd.
“It’s been a long time coming.”
Taylor Swift’s much anticipated “Eras Tour” made its way to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Nov. 1 through 3.
This tour, which includes at least 44 songs per show, has taken the world by storm.
Not only has the tour caused a catastrophic shutdown on ticket-booking website Ticketmaster, it also has grossed more than $1 billion in its 20 months of running.
Although tickets were difficult to snag, some Delta High School students have been lucky enough to go.
Senior Mackemzie Lipps and junior Blaysha Downing both went to Eras shows in the first North American leg of the tour back in 2023.
Lipps saw Swift in Nashville, Tenn., in May while on a college visit at Vanderbilt University.
She says that the whole experience was memorable, but her favorite part was the very beginning of the concert.
“At the start of the concert, the whole stadium went silent, then everyone started singing along,” Lipps says. “That was so cool.”
Lipps also loved seeing all the other concert-goers dressed up.
The Eras Tour hasn’t been the only tour of Swift’s that Lipps has gone to.
She has also seen Swift during her 2018 “Reputation Stadium Tour.”
Within those five years between tours, Swift has released five new albums.
The second album released in those five years, titled “Folklore”, is Lipps’ favorite album and tour era.
“[Swift] writes such beautiful lyrics that mean a lot more than what they may seem at first,” Lipps says.
“Folklore” is filled with those lyrical moments, Lipps says.
Swift’s lyricism throughout her 200 plus songs is why she is one of Blaysha Downing’s favorite musical artists.
“No matter what mood you’re in, I feel like there’s always a song you can listen to and enjoy,” she says.
Downing saw Swift in Denver, Colo., in July 2023 while on a trip to visit her uncle.
“It was such a cool atmosphere, and it was just really good energy the whole night,” Downing says.
She specifically remembers the “1989” era of the concert because it is one of her favorite Swift albums.
Juniors Zela Tschopp and Leah Noble saw Swift for the second time at Indy’s third show on Nov. 3.
Their last Eras show was in Chicago, Ill., in 2023.
This show, however, had a few differences from the earlier one.
“Last time we went, it was summer, so the top of the stadium was open.” Tschopp says. “I really liked being able to see the sky and the sunset.”
However, Tschopp says that she also liked having the stadium closed since the darkness added more to the light effects during the show.
There was also an added “era” in the Indy show.
Swift’s eleventh album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” released on April 1 2024, right before the start of the European leg of the Eras Tour.
So, Tschopp and Noble were able to see a new portion of the show this time around.
Swift also started singing song mashups during her acoustic set.
These “Surprise Songs” rotate every night, each song different from the one before.
Tschopp and Noble say that the SS were one of their favorite parts of the night.
However, Tschopp says she does feel a little bad about getting to go to The Eras Tour twice since a lot of people didn’t get the chance to go at all.
Despite this, Tschopp and Noble are glad they got to see Swift again before the tour ends.
The three Indianapolis shows were the last of the American tour dates.
Swift will close out the tour in Vancouver, Canada on Dec. 6 through 8 after more than 150 shows.
