It was a “Cruel Summer” for those who didn’t get tickets to see Taylor Swift in concert. I was lucky enough to be able to overcome Ticketmaster’s thorny lair.
It was an amazing night. For example, “when I think about summer, all the beautiful times,” only one moment comes to mind — seeing Swift in concert on June 24. Although I didn’t get the pleasure of hearing the song “Back to December” (the song the lyric belongs to), there were countless other moments, big and small, that made this concert one of the best nights of my life.
Two moments stand out. The first: Her note change in “the 1” when she sings, “You’ll find some women on the internet and take her home.” Every time I think of that phrase or hear the song, the unique line echoes through my brain. The second moment was the crowd’s seemingly never-ending cheer after she played “champagne problems.”
This was my first concert, and though I went in knowing the setlist and costume changes, I wasn’t sure what to expect about the overall experience. The concert itself was amazing. The crowd was energetic and enthusiastic but also friendly. I traded friendship bracelets with 10 strangers – an unforgettable experience unique to Swift’s concerts.
The process of getting tickets, however, was just as unforgettable. The prices alone were ridiculous, not to mention the fact that I got kicked out of Ticketmaster twice. The Ticketmaster debacle made my family question whether seeing Swift was worth it. We ended up getting complete nosebleeds, but I was still ecstatic; I just wanted to be able to attend.
Swift wasn’t the only artist to perform this summer. Beyoncé and Ed Sheeran performed at Huntington Bank Stadium and U.S Bank Stadium, and smaller names graced the stages of alternative venues.
Regan Brass ‘25 attended 7 concerts this summer and 18 in her entire life. Her favorite of the summer: Zach Bryan.
“It was held at a really small venue even though he has such a huge fan base so it was like the people that bought tickets and were willing to spend the money were like his closest and biggest fans… the energy was crazy,” said Brass. “He’s a really good performer and it was a really cool setup. The people there didn’t buy tickets for fun, they all really liked him.”
“At the end of every concert [Bryan] goes out and he’ll wait 15 minutes and come back out and sing this one song called ‘Revival.’ It’s a 15-minute version… he came out for a little encore and brought 10 people on stage,” described Brass. This became Brass’s favorite moment of the night.
On the other end, Thomas Rhett earned the title of least favorite concert from Brass.
“He only performed for like 45 minutes. He had a lot of openers so he only came on for a short amount of time,” Brass said. The crowd was also older which made him perform [fewer] of his own songs and more cover songs that would appeal to that audience.
But what makes a concert good or bad?
To Brass, “It’s a crowd thing. If you’re with a bunch of people that don’t really know the artist or the songs, it just makes it less intimate. It’s more fun when everyone is screaming and dancing and knows the words.”
I agree; the energy of both Swift and the audience was unmatched. Even as we walked out in the pouring rain, the crowd continued singing her songs. No one seemed to care that their clothes were soaked or their makeup was running down their faces. The smiles and laughter overpowered everything.
