Fans packed U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis for Taylor Swift’s two sold-out concerts last weekend, a weekend that drew an estimated 500,000 people into the city.
The Eras Tour is the most hyped-up tour in recent memory, considering the unprecedented demand for tickets. There has quite literally never been anything like it before in terms of audience demand for tickets — tickets for the tour have popped up on the resale market with prices into the thousands, with some desperate fans buying them up regardless of the astronomical price, proving that the dedication of Swift’s fanbase is unrivaled by any artist in the world right now.
The comparison is striking when you look at the number of tickets still available for Beyoncé’s show at Huntington Bank Stadium next month considering Taylor’s two nights at U.S. Bank Stadium sold out almost instantly. Swift is legitimately at a level of popularity that is far above all other major performers globally, even considerably higher than someone as popular as Beyoncé.
Katie Olson, a 26-year-old Swiftie from the Twin Cities, attended Saturday night’s performance, it was the fifth time she has gotten to see Swift live.
“I’ve seen ‘Fearless,’ ‘Speak Now,’ ‘1989,’ ‘Reputation’ and now the Eras, the only one I am missing is ‘Red,’’’ Olson said.
Describing the ticket-buying experience for the Eras Tour, Olson said, “It took eight hours, jumping in and out of ticketing.” She was worried she would not be able to score tickets, but after hours of waiting she was able to.
Ashley Gotreau and Lucy Jolstad of Minnetonka attended Swift’s first night at US Bank Stadium together. Gotreau and Jolstad, in their 40s, have been fans of Swift since the “Lover” era and Friday night’s show was their first time seeing her live.
Jolstad also expressed disappointment with the ticket-buying experience but had a friend save the day with extra tickets.
“It was very sad. I got kicked out and everything,” Jolstad said. I posted a very sad, sad story on Instagram and then our friend’s brother got tickets. So then we were able to get four tickets that way.”
The frenzy of a ticket-buying experience that occurred last fall for the Eras Tour was unlike anything that had been seen before. In the midst of the chaos, some fans managed to get lucky — through time and effort on their end or through someone they knew. The on-sale fiasco even garnered the attention of U.S. legislators.
It remains to be seen, however, if any meaningful change will come out of all of it.
