It finally happened. I attended Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour in Miami, Florida, Night 3. Let’s talk about it. First of all it was a total dream come true, I have been a fan of Taylor’s since high school and have been trying to experience the tour in any way humanly possible, like making snacks, throwing parties, and of course live streaming every show possible.
So here’s how it all happened, back in December a sweet follower of mine reached out and said she had four tickets and ended up not being able to make the show, I jumped at the chance as I was never even in the queue to buy them from Ticketmaster. I decided to call my girlfriend Jessie who also had been trying her hardest to get tickets and was not successful. Her husband and my husband are friends from High School, so we knew we could make it a fun little trip for the four of us.
We started planning and chose to make a little vacation around the show. We had tickets for Night 3 which was Sunday, October 20th. Our friends flew in to Charleston on Thursday and the four of us rented a car and made the 8 hour drive down Friday morning.
Show Prep
I did all the things, got my hair done, did the Eras mani, pedi and brows, packed all the sparkle and merch I could! I made a fun daily deck, fake tickets and had the girls decorate disposable cameras!
Travel Day
We rented a mini van for a comfortable spacious drive and got on the road at about 11am. Jessie and I saved the Friendship Bracelets for the drive down, and honestly it was so much more fun that way. I downloaded movies on my iPad and we watched The Eras Tour and Miss Americana while stringing beads. A few hours in, we stopped in Savannah, Georgia to get brunch. It was such a beautiful city to stop in and the food was incredible. Back on the road with only a couple more stops until we arrived in Ft. Lauderdale around 9pm. We rented an Air BnB with a pool, a grill and even a putting green- making it super comfortable and fun for everyone. We ordered pizza and live streamed Miami Night One, freaked out over the new reputation body suit, then called it a night after a long drive.
Saturday Day One
Back to making bracelets for the morning then off to lunch on the beach. We walked around for a bit, had lunch and went back to the Air Bnb. Jessie and sat by the pool, made MORE bracelets, filmed some funny content, and laughed our butts off. We stayed in and grilled up steaks, the boys watched sports, we live streamed night 2. Early to bed for ERAS DAY tomorrow.
SHOW DAY
Today was the day. We hung around for the day to relax and hydrate, we had a long night ahead of us. We spent the day by the pool and getting ready- We wanted to have fun with getting ready and take our time. I made sure to bring glitter freckles, and 13 tattoos for our hands. I DIYed my jacket and wore it with white denim and my favorite glitter boots. **I took my boots off and wore my socks about one era in, even though my boots are comfortable for heels, I was already in pain, and it was all I could think about. I finished the outfit with my collection with Juler’s Row. I wore the 89 charm on my hook bracelet, the Eras pendant and Florida pendant on Eras chains. For earrings I wore custom Eras Tour stage earrings and tiny snake studs. For makeup I did my normal glam, adding the freckles and a fun lover inspired glitter heart, and you can’t do the Eras Tour without red lips. I made sure to practice the entire look so I didn’t make a mistake on concert day.
For my bag, I carried a clear fanny pack embellished with an Eras Tour charm. It was SO cute, but spent the entire time in my seat. Here’s what went in my bag, shop the items here
- wallet
- Tylenol
- hand sanitizer
- portable phone charger
- festive sunglasses (I had plans for these, but never executed them)
- pretend tickets for photos
- poncho
- camera
- visine
- sharpie (you never know who you’re going to meet)
- my phone was always in my hand or back pocket
Hard Rock stadium opened its doors at 4:30pm Gracie Abrams went on at 7pm and Taylor at 8pm. We called an uber and got to the stadium a little after 6 o’clock. I was in several groups about the tour and I was prepared that the parking situation was going to be a mess, so I am really happy we decided not to drive.
We also opted out of the merch. The line was INSANE, and knew it was going to be. It would have added about two hours to the process and honestly almost everything they were selling I can buy online, or already own. I have been collecting merch from friends or grabbing from her site, so I really did not feel a need to go. I did hear that if you go during the show or you send someone (like a husband) durning All Too Well, the line was very small. I also heard that most of the things that were tour exclusive were sold out by night three.
We had to scan our tickets about three times as we got closer and closer to the stadium, we were trading some bracelets along the way, but I was anxious to get to my seat. Once you are completely through ticketing they handed out the light up bracelets. We were in section 315 row 19 seat 8 it was on the center side of the stage. Honestly, I was worried with how high up we were, but the seats were AMAZING. I think it’s pretty hard to have bad seats at The Eras Tour. We found our seats and had some time to trade bracelets while the boys went to grab drinks.
Friendship bracelets: I ended up going with 30, my goal was higher, but when I tried them on, my wrists were pretty full. Something to say about friendship bracelets, 90% of the ones I traded were because I walked around and asked. I had a few girls come up to me, but mostly I was initiating the transaction- so have confidence going in! At the beginning I started pocketing the ones I was getting (the pockets in my jacket came in handy during the whole show) and offering my wrists so others could choose. As I traded more and more, I filled my wrists with the ones I received and started choosing the bracelet to be traded so I could select one I made. I probably made it more complicated than it needed to be, but I was going in blind.
Looking back I was SO happy to arrive when we did because it started raining at about 6:30. Our seats just happened to be covered but everyone on the floor was soaked, so if we walked in any later we would have been getting wet. Gracie came on a few minutes before 7, if you don’t care to see the opener, this is good time to make a bathroom run. Our stadium had Mens bathrooms before the show, but then made almost all of them Women’s. Gracie’s performance was so fun, I took this time to sit and enjoy, she was dancing in the rain and I was crying in anticipation.
When it came to the show, I felt very prepared with all the cues because of how often I watch the live streams/ the movie. I didn’t at ALL feel like I had already seen it or tired of it because of all the magic. The biggest thing for me, was do I film it all, and constantly have a phone in my hand? Thankfully my husband was the BEST photographer and videographer. I told him, “I will film Taylor, you film me.” Honestly his footage is SO special, seeing my candid reactions and joy after the fact is really priceless.
Back to the cues of the show, this did help me prepare a little, knowing what I wanted to capture. I knew I wanted to capture the opening, her speeches, some certain songs and special moments throughout the show.
Now let’s talk about the actual performance. It was magic, the end.
No really, it was amazing, Taylor named it a rain show, and her LAST rain show on The Eras Tour, because moving forward all shows are indoors. If you know Taylor, you know how much she loves a good rain show, and now I know why. The reputation era and Speak Now era HIT DIFFERENT in the rain. I loved being where we were because I could see the entire stage and the entire stadium. You can tell how much work went into the entire show and the crowd to make it magical.
Special Show Highlights and outfits:
- Purple Lover Body Suit
- Tiger Stripe Fearless Body Suit (personal favorite)
- I bet you think about me Red Era shirt (another favorite of mine)
- Kam said “Irregulardless NO” during the Red Set
- Her All To Well speech about us having no concern that Monday was the next day was so unserious and cute
- During the Speak Now ear she walked out and said “oh look it’s raining”
- Champagne Problems standing ovation was INSANE and so loud in real life.
- New reputation body suit. In the rain. EPIC.
- Green and Purple set for 1989
- She added Florida!!! with special guest Florence and the Machine to the set list and it was absolutely everything.
- She debuted a new Surprise Song dress which has to be my favorite of all time.
- Out of the Woods x All You Have to do is Stay on guitar
- mirrorball x Guilty as Sin on piano
- She said “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs” during Karma wearing the rainbow tinsel jacket.
Honestly, the entire show was just so incredible, I cried during the Lover era and the Surprise songs. My favorite eras were rep, lover, TTPD and midnights. I was an absolute MESS for Surprise songs, I was shaking the entire time. The 1989 era is when I truly fell in love with Taylor Swift and has been a forever favorite. Out of the Woods is one of my all time favorite songs, and she sang the iconic bridge TWICE. And if you know me AT ALL, mirrorball was for me, I absolutely freaked out in disbelief.
After the show: we stayed until the very end, I was not about to miss a thing, some did not. The show ended around 11:30pm, and we knew it was going to be rough getting out of the stadium. My biggest tip: mentally prepare for this. We walked as far away from the stadium as possible to call an uber and have an address to give them without chaos. We finally got a ride and arrived home at about 1:30am, thank GOD there was a pizza place open, while you could get food at the stadium, I chose not to. We decompressed and finally slept around 2:30am.
Day Three
We stayed in Florida a day after the show to intentionally do nothing. I knew it would be a long concert day and the last thing I wanted to do was travel the next day. We slept in, we hung around in jammies on the couch, ordered breakfast and made it out to the pool around 2pm. It was really nice to be able to go through all the videos and really comprehend what went on the day before. That night we decided to saddle up go out for one last dinner.
Tuesday- Travel Home
We drove down, but decided to fly home. Danny and I caught a 10 am flight and were able to relax and not worry about driving, which was so nice. Of course, it was fun seeing all the swiftes in the airport, you have to wear some merch on the way home- it’s like a badge of honor.
A few other questions I got:
Q: Why didn’t you bring the kids?
A: ’cause I didn’t want to. I LOVE how much my girls enjoy Taylor Swift and it is so much fun sharing my passion for her music with them. We took them to listen outside the stadium when she was in Santa Clara, we took them to the movie, they have merch, birthday parties, etc. I know they would have had the time of their lives but it really wasn’t something I want to take on. I knew I would enjoy the show so much more not having to worry about them. There were so many little girls and when they are older, hopefully I will get 5 tickets to one of her shows, but this one was for mama.
Q: Did you wear contacts?
A: YES! I rarely do, but this was one of those occasions, hint the visine in my bag and the extensive make up around my eyes!
Q: Do you wish you arrived earlier?
A: I think the only reason I would’ve gone earlier would have been to get merch or to mingle with others before getting to my seat. But, I was REALLY happy with our timing and wouldn’t change it. We were there for almost 6 hours, it was a lot.
Honestly I feel SO lucky to have had this opportunity to attend and would do it all over again in a blink of an eye and pay double! What an unforgettable, magical night.
XO,
Kelsey
