How to have the night of your “Wildest Dreams”
Darian Trabold, Editor-In-Chief
In August 2023 I faced the agonizing and terrifying experience of facing off against my fellow Swifties in an attempt to get tickets to one of Taylor Swift’s six Toronto concerts. Some may compare trying to get Taylor tickets on Ticketmaster to her song “The Great War.” Sitting on my floor next to the Wi-Fi router, surrounded by my crystals and my Catholic pocket prayer book, I logged on to Ticketmaster with a code and a dream. It’s hard to think that almost a year and a half later, after all that agony getting the tickets, my friends and I are going to the Era’s Tour this weekend. With so much information circulating around online, I wanted to share some tips and tricks I learned from having the privilege of attending the Miami Era’s Tour show.
- Get Merch Early
If you are able to, I would recommend going to the early merchandise pop-ups at Roger’s Centre. I did this for the Miami show and while I did wait on line for almost three hours, I would rather wait on line when I had nowhere to be than miss Gracie Abrams or even Taylor. In Miami, for some inexplicable reason, they only had one merch tent for the entire stadium, so some people got stuck in line for hours, missing Gracie. Also, it was quite entertaining watching the men in line (including my own father) slowly losing their minds on the early merch days. If you cannot do the early pop-up, I recommend getting to the stadium as early as you can on your show day and running straight to the merch line or if you are going with someone who is willing to miss a song or set, send them during the set or song they do not like because there will be no line. In Miami, the merch was open until 12 a.m. so if that is an option here, you could also go after the show. Most of us know what merch is being sold at the show so make sure you know what you want to make the process move a little faster.
- Read Instructions from the Venue
Many of us got an email from teh Roger’s Centre outlining their specific Era’s Tour policy. It is so important to read everything because these policies most likely differ from a Jay’s game or other shows you may have attended at Roger’s before. The policies are even different from the Era’s Tour Miami. For example, in Miami you were allowed to put your friendship bracelets in your bag or on a ring to hold them, so you did not have to wear them on your wrist. Roger’s Centre is not allowing this and says all bracelets must be worn on your arm to be able to enter. You do not want to get there and either have to put them all on your wrist, holding up the line or be forced to get rid of some. It is also important to look at the bag policy and portable charger policy.
- Brush Up on Concert Etiquette
Please, I am begging you to be respectful at the Era’s Tour. We are all there to have fun and enjoy Taylor, do not ruin someone else’s experience. We have all seen the videos on TikTok of people sharing the horrible things that have happened to them at the Era’s Tour, try not to do those things. As it says in the Bible “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
- Protect Your Health
I know we all want to stand and sing-along with Taylor, but I promise you Taylor cares more about your health and safety than standing the entire three and a half hours. I usually sit during the time between sets, its why Taylor put mini-intermissions in the show. If you are feeling like you are over doing it, sit down and get some water. You do not want to miss the Era’s Tour because you fainted. If you are going to buy anything at the stadium besides merchandise let it be a bottle of water, trust me you are going to need it.
The best and most important advice I can give is: have fun! It’s the Era’s Tour! When we are all old, we will be able to tell our grandchildren we saw Taylor Swift’s Era’s Tour, the concert that saved economies and changed lives. Scream your heart out and do not forget to take pictures and videos with friends and family so you can remember this moment.