Haley Johnson, of Crown Point, is ready for Friday because it will be her 13th time seeing Taylor Swift in concert at the Eras Tour in Indianapolis, which is the final U.S. city on Swift’s world tour.
Johnson, 30, said she discovered Swift in 6th grade when she heard “Tim McGraw” on the radio. When she was 13 years old, Johnson said her mom took her to Country Thunder in Wisconsin, which is where she first saw Swift in concert.
“It was so awesome. She was just slightly older than me, so it was like someone that I still identified with as kind of a peer but kind of like an older sibling, singing about all the things that girls go through instead of just the standard adult country topics that I was used to hearing from my mom’s artists at the time,” Johnson said. “It was just so easy to want to follow along and watch her career grow.”
Swift will bring her Eras Tour to Indianapolis this weekend performing three nights at the Lucas Oil Stadium. Hotels have sold out in Indianapolis this weekend, and the city will likely see an economic boom as Swifties eat, drink and explore the city, said Kyle Anderson, an economist at the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.
It’s estimated that Indianapolis, which has a nearly $140 billion economy, will see a more than $100 million economic boost this weekend, Anderson said.
About 80% of the fans that come to the Eras Tour come from outside of the geographic area of where Swift performs, Anderson said, which is why cities report an economic increase for the dates she performs.
Indianapolis businesses are leaning into the Swift theme, Anderson said, from Swift-themed foods at restaurants to gyms offering Swift inspired work out classes. The city has even changed its street names to Swift themes, he said.
“Bringing dollars from outside of central Indiana to inside of central Indiana, that’s true economic impact,” Anderson said. “That’s why her concerts are somewhat unique relative to others.”
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett issued a proclamation declaring it “Taylor Swift Weekend,” which mentions the city sites that she’s made notable over the years including filming a video outside the Scottish Rite Cathedral in 2008 and performing at a Future Farmers of America convention.
That night at Country Thunder, Johnson said Swift performed a set ahead of headliners Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert. After Swift performed, Johnson said she’ll never forget how Swift stood near her merchandise tent to sign autographs and talk with fans.
In that moment, Johnson said she realized that Swift was a different kind of artist, because very few artists would spend a whole evening meeting their fans.
The running joke between her and her mom, Johnson said, is that her mom wouldn’t let her go meet Swift that night because her mom didn’t want to miss the headline performances.
“I don’t let her live that down to this day,” Johnson said with a laugh. “I have seen her on every single tour since then either in Chicago or Indianapolis or both.”
Of all of the tours, Johnson said her favorites were the Speak Now tour, which she attended in Chicago in 2011, and the Eras Tour, which she went to last year in Chicago.
After Swift released “The Tortured Poets Department” in April, Johnson said she decided she had to go to the Eras Tour in Indianapolis because she didn’t want to miss Swift perform from that album.
Over the years, Swift has been the soundtrack to Johnson’s life events: “Red” was released around the time Johnson got her driver’s license so she would drive around listening to the album and “1989” was released when she was in college.
“Any life event I have I have, there is an album that identifies back to that time,” Johnson said. “It just always feels like there’s something for whatever moment you’re going through in life.”
Through her music, lyrics and performances, Swift has been able to articulate all the emotions behind life’s events, both big and small, Johnson said.
“Her ability to capture those everyday type of moments … she’s so perfectly is able to put them into a story to put into a song that is relatable to the everyday person and help you feel through those moments,” Johnson said.
Rhiannon Kaminski, 25, of Valparaiso, knows all too well the atmosphere at the Eras Tour that she’ll encounter Friday because she saw the Eras Tour in Chicago last year. All the fans gathered, dressed up, trading friendship bracelets before the show, and then the phenomenal performance Swift puts on, Kaminski said.
“I am blessed to be able to go twice now, since I saw it last year, but I’m excited to see the new things this year,” Kaminski said. “This is a generational moment for all of us. This is going to be like the big concert that everyone talks about for quite some time.”
Kaminski, who also went to the 1989 tour in Chicago in 2015, said she will go to the Indianapolis show with friends. They look forward to spending the weekend in Indianapolis, Kaminski said, because throughout the weekend the city will be hosting a lot of Swift-themed events.
As a little girl, Kaminski said she had a pink CD player that she would carry around the house playing Swift’s debut album. Kaminski would play it so often, she said, that the CD became scratched up and wouldn’t play anymore.
“So 7-year-old Rhiannon was like blasting ‘Picture to Burn’ and had no idea what she was talking about, but she was having a good time,” Kaminski said with a laugh.
Swift is the best lyric writer of this generation, Kaminski said, because she has a talent of saying something without saying it. Most importantly, Swift’s music resonates with Kaminski, she said — the break ups, the messy friendships, and the sweet moments with family.
“I just relate to her on a whole other level,” Kaminski said. “It feels like she’s lived my life and I’ve lived her life.”
Kayla Watson, 32, of Crown Point, said the plan was delicate, but she will surprise her 9-year-old daughter with tickets to Friday’s show hours before. Watson will record her daughter and have her say the phrase “I can’t calm down, I’m going to the Eras Tour,” and then hand her tickets.
Then, they’ll get in their car and head to Indianapolis, Watson said.
Watson said she’s seen Swift’s Reputation Tour in Chicago in 2018 and the Eras Tour in Chicago last year, so she looks forward to her daughter having this moment at a Swift concert.
“It’s going to be very nostalgic for me,” Watson said about going to see Swift with her daughter.
Watson said she’s sad to see the Eras Tour come to an end because, while Swift will continue to make music and go on tour, this tour feels special as it includes her whole body of artistic work.
“I keep telling people (to) spend the extra, do the extra because this is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Even when she does other tours, it’s never going to be like the Eras Tour,” Watson said. “Every concert is unique and it’s going to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
akukulka@post-trib.com
