EXPERT ADVISORY – November 13, 2024 – R0137
The ‘Toronto version’ of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is about to begin a six-show run on Nov. 14 — and ‘Swifties’ are ready for it.
In fact, fans will experience the concert series and related events in a way last seen only with the Beatles and ‘Beatlemania,’ says Brock University Associate Professor of History Elizabeth Vlossak.
“But even at the height of Beatlemania, specifically during shows in Toronto at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1964-65, the city was not transformed in quite the same way,” Vlossak says.
She notes that about 36,000 concertgoers — a significant draw at that time — attended the Beatles Toronto shows, versus the estimated 360,000 concertgoers that will be waiting in line for Swift’s six upcoming shows.
The city’s transformation in preparation for Swift’s arrival includes road closures, enhanced public transportation, 22 ‘Taylor Swift Way’ signs lining the route from Rogers Centre to Nathan Philips Square and the activation of Toronto’s emergency operations on concert nights. This comes in addition to the economic impact of the shows, which has been widely referred to as ‘Swiftonomics.’
Other Taylor Swift-related events include ‘Taylgate ’24’ at Metro Toronto Convention Centre with a Taylor Swift sing-along led by Choir! Choir! Choir!, a dance party at Bata Shoe Museum and a Taylor Swift expert panel talk at the Toronto Reference Library.
Combined, Vlossak says these actions and events demonstrate the immense cultural impact of the Eras Tour, especially when it comes to the unique relationship between Swift and her fans.
“Attending her concert is a form of pilgrimage; people who have attended a show refer to it as a spiritual experience,” she says. “It’s not just being in the presence of Swift that is significant, but being in the presence of other fans, singing along together. It is kinship.”
Vlossak says what happens outside of the venue is just as meaningful as the show itself. Thousands of people who don’t have tickets still show up at concert venues and other nearby spaces and parking lots to sing along.
“We saw this in Munich, and even when shows were cancelled in Vienna, fans wandered the city singing the songs and having spontaneous dance parties, another part of that unique relationship between Swift and her fans,” she says.
Another feature of the Eras Tour, according to Vlossak, are the costumes that concertgoers design and wear, as well as the overall atmosphere of joy, friendship and positivity at and outside of the shows.
Child and Youth Studies Professor Shauna Pomerantz is excited for Swift’s young fans to “experience a once-in-a-lifetime event that has changed the nature of music, touring and celebrity forever.”
Seeing how different generations of women will engage with each other will also be one of many fascinating aspects of the Toronto leg of the Eras Tour, which she says has been about more than music from the beginning.
“The Eras Tour has been a celebration of girls’ and women’s friendships, speaking out about heartache, normalizing emotional responses and engaging in camaraderie through covert codes and globalized messaging,” she says. “While also, of course, part of global capitalist expansion, there is a case to be made for countercultural engagement in relation to shifting gender norms, breaking down age barriers and the sheer decibels of these unified voices that sing their hearts out with wild abandon.”
Pomerantz says Swift’s cultural relevance is related to the inherent contradictions at the core of her fame, which young fans find irresistible.
“She’s at once one of the most powerful people in the world and someone who expresses vulnerability, sadness and heartache without shame,” she says. “Her young fans have watched her take control of her celebrity by writing her own story in album after album, and it’s been nothing short of thrilling.”
Associate Professor of History Elizabeth Vlossak and Professor of Child and Youth Studies Shauna Pomerantz are available for media interviews on this topic.
For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:
*Sarah Ackles, Communications Specialist, Brock University sackles@brocku.ca or 289-241-5483
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