Forget the cardigan at home, Swifties get bejeweled for second Minnesota show
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Plaid shirt days were over as thousands of fans flocked to U.S. Bank Stadium on Saturday night in their best dress. MPR News freelance photographer Nicole Neri interviewed several Swifties about the homemade outfits they created for the big day.
Rafael Cisneros, Chicago
Cisneros has been a Taylor Swift fan since he was 9 years old. He created a replica of the outfit Swift wears during her song “Karma” for what he says is his 15th time seeing her.
“I feel like I’ve grown up with her,” Cisneros said. “She is a very inspirational person, she has paved the way for a lot of decisions I’ve made in life.”
Gabby Borromeo, Iowa
Like many other attendees, Borromeo brought 100 friendship bracelets to trade with other fans. The trend comes from the Swift song “You’re On Your Own, Kid” from her latest album.
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'Cause there were pages turned with the bridges burned
Everything you lose is a step you take
So, make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it
You've got no reason to be afraid
She has been preparing for months, sitting at the coffee table each night with the TV on carefully curating bracelets for each Swift “era,” or album. There’s technically 10 albums that define the Eras tour, although songs from her debut album “Taylor Swift” are only played occasionally as surprise songs for the night as she does not own the masters. (Don’t worry, we see a re-recording in the future.)
Bracelets are made with fans favorite songs titles, least favorite ex-boyfriends (Jake Gyllenhaal, we’re looking at you) and inside fan jokes.
“I really loved her when I was a kid, but then you know I kind of went through that phase where I didn’t like her,” Borromeo said. “In my sophomore year of college, my friend made me listen to ‘Evermore’ and I love it so much. I started listening to all of her albums and now she is my favorite artist.”
Abbigail Vang, St. Paul
Vang chose the “Lover” era to emulate for night two. The Lover album was released in 2019 and was supposed to be a world tour: “Lover Fest.” It was was canceled due to COVID-19, so this is the first time fans are hearing any songs from the album live.
For Vang, she says her favorite thing about being a Swiftie is the community it creates.
“I have loved her since I was 9, since “You Belong with Me” was on the radio … It just feels like a really big community. There’s a bunch of inside jokes and references we all get and we can relate to her. I am a big storytelling person, and I think she does that well with every feeling I have felt before, she’s already encapsulated it in a song. So she kind of makes me feel like I’ve never had an original thought, but it’s nice knowing I’m not the only one that feels that way.”
Christina Berry, Canada
Berry spent weeks on her faded blue jeans embordering Swift symbols across eras. She has been a fan since Swift’s debut album in 2006 but says she’s never been able to get tickets. Like many other fans, at 26 she says she feels like she grew up with Swift.
“I just love her. I’ve grown up with her and that sound and I think she is a very good role model so it stuck,” Berry said.
Claire Stastny, Edina
Stastny and her friend worked daily with her sewing machine to create her “Lover” era look. It was her first show, and she says she’s been a fan for all 16 years of her life.
She was most looking forward to the surprise songs Swift plays at each concert and was rooting for “Innocent.” Every show gets two songs, most that have never been played live before. Some are singles, previously unreleased songs from “the vault” or timeless favorites that didn’t make it into the setlist.
Friday night began with “Paper Rings,” a highly requested song and “If This Was a Movie.” Each song is played acoustically, the first on guitar and the second on piano.
The second night was “Dear John,” a song that may-or-may-not be about John Mayer but Swift set things straight when she said in a speech before the song she wants none of her fans to blast someone online she maybe wrote a song about 15 years ago.
The last surprise song in Minneapolis was “Daylight.” In the opinion of many Swifites online, Minneapolis has received some of the most requested and beloved songs of the entire tour.
MPR News freelance photographer Nicole Neri contributed reporting.