2024-11-02 05:55:02
After months of preparation, the Eras Tour has finally arrived in Indianapolis.
More than 200,000 fans are expected to be in downtown Indianapolis over this three-show weekend, with about 70,000 at the shows each night. Nearly 90% of ticketholders are from outside the Circle City, and hotels are basically sold out.
IndyStar will be following all the fun, bringing you sights and sounds from downtown Indianapolis as the final U.S. shows of the Eras Tour kick off. Check back throughout the evening as Indy celebrates Night 1.
“Well hello Indianapolis!” Swift says before doing her signature point around the stadium enticing Swifties to scream as she gestures towards their sections.
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“That was extremely cool what you just did,” she says. “Kind of the whole way you’ve been treating me the past couple of minutes has gone straight to my head. It’s making me feel really powerful, you know what I mean? I mean you’re making me feel like tonight we get to play a sold out show for 69,000 people on a Friday night.
“I guess what I’m saying is you’re making me feel like I’m the man.”
— Bryan West
No. 22 shared to her Instagram Story on Friday night a photo of the stage where opening act Gracie Abrams was performing with the caption “I’m fired up!!!!!!!!”
See more:‘Fired up’ Caitlin Clark attends N1 of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in Indianapolis
— Katie Wiseman
Even though opener Gracie Abrams has already hit the stage, ticket prices for Friday night’s show were still staggering.
Around 7:40 p.m., the cheapest ticket available for purchase was through Vivid Seats for $1,761 located at Lower Level 248, Row 6 with an obstructed view.
More details here:Still hoping to see Taylor Swift N1 in Indianapolis? Here’s how much tickets are reselling for
— Katie Wiseman
Swift Alert is hosting a fan-filled party inside the Hotel Indy restaurant, the Hulman. Two-hundred and 20 Swifties — who didn’t get tickets inside Lucas Oil Stadium — are watching the concert’s livestream on projectors.
“When I started Swift Alert I was walking my dog with my wife wondering if a few of my friends would download the app,” says Kyle Mumma, founder of the app. “I did not think that we would be hosting a live event in Indy with hundreds of people having hundreds of thousands of players every night. It’s very cool.”
The app has been around since the summer of 2023 and grown to more than 1.4 million active users who log on to play “Mastermind,” a game where fans can guess what outfits Swift will wear, what surprise songs she may sing and if there will be any announcements.
— Bryan West
The singer released her debut album, “Good Riddance,” in February 2023 and joined the Eras Tour during the April 1 show in Arlington, Texas, where Swift introduced her as “one of [her] favorite artists.”
More about her:Taylor Swift’s opener Gracie Abrams has a famous family, voice. Here’s what to know
— Joe Mutascio
The lines to get inside the stadium were almost nonexistent at around 5:30 p.m., more than an hour before the show was scheduled to start.But scoring merchandise was a different story. The line for those on the floor crossed the width of a football field and wound down one of the tunnels, for an hourlong wait time. You’re on your own, kid, for this one.Those who braved the long lines can purchase sweatshirts, t-shirts and an Indianapolis Eras Tour poster. As of 6 p.m. the merchandise stand on the floor was already out of the coveted size small crewneck.Pro tip: If you don’t care what size you get, I’d go after the show starts. That’s what I did when I saw Taylor in Chicago.
— Kaitlin Lange
Throughout the Indiana State Museum’s three floors, TAY/gate attendees spin around in swishy purple skirts and balance on the heels of sequined cowboy boots. Then there’s Frank Stretar, whose Eras outfit consists of khaki pants, dark blue tennis shoes and a black “Down Bad” t-shirt.
The Toledo, Ohio, resident and his wife, Erin, didn’t have the cash to buy concert tickets for themselves, their young son and two young daughters, so TAY/gate it was. Erin was the family’s first Swiftie. After she was gifted a ticket to one of Swift’s summer 2023 concerts in Cincinnati, she decided she should probably brush up on Swift’s discography and quickly fell in love.
The Swiftie bug quickly spread to Erin’s daughters and then to Frank.
“I think her music is phenomenal,” Frank said. “I think she’s an incredible writer.”
Even the Stretars’ young son has proudly joined the Swiftie bandwagon; his favorite song is “Lover.”
“She’s teaching women to be strong,” Frank said. “And I’ve got two young daughters, so I love that.”
— Bradley Hohulin
Andie Vandertie and Sam Korn, both 28, traveled from Milwaukee in a last-ditch effort to obtain Eras Tour tickets after waiting in multiple queues. The duo sported orange t-shirts that said “Ticketmaster” on one side and “Maximum security inmate” on the other.
“Ticketmaster is in the dog house,” Korn said. “They’re the inmates.”
Outside the Indiana Convention Center, the two met another duo in the same situation but different costumes. Stephanie Carrell, 30, and her sister Rachel Carrell, 29, wore clown costumes and held signs that said, “Clowning for tickets.”
The two are from Chicago, where they saw a previous Eras tour concert and then stalked Ticketmaster, as Stephanie put it, to enjoy the experience again.
“At this point, we know what we’re missing and that’s why we had to come here,” Stephanie said.
As Swifties came up to the four of them and requested photos, she also admitted: “This part is half the fun.”
— Domenica Bongiovanni
Taylor and Travis just can’t get any privacy these days. They’re basically stuck in an enclosure with people lined up to stare at them, take pictures of them, cuddle them — we are talking about Taylor and Travis the cats, rights?
Taylor and Travis are weeks-old domestic shorthair foster kittens, two of eight that Animal Outreach of Shelby County acquired from an overcrowded shelter. When AOSC board member Sarah Bair saw the Museum was hosting a Swift-themed event, she pounced at the opportunity.
The line to pet, pick up and pose with the cats isn’t unlike the ticket queues for an actual Swift concert. It’s all a bit much for Taylor, who had to be “put in timeout” after growing tired of constantly being swept up from her cozy abode.
Travis, however, doesn’t mind the attention. “He just wants to be held,” Bair said.
AOSC founder Kerryanne May said socializing is crucial for kittens, especially up to the 10-week mark. Travis has been quite the social butterfly, rough-housing plenty with his fellow felines. But even Travis has his moments, leaping clear out of his enclosure earlier this afternoon.
Sometimes the flashing lights are a little too bright, even for the biggest stars.
— Bradley Hohulin
In a sea of sparkly Eras Tour outfits, sisters Clare and Kristin Bibins stood in matching fuchsia and turquoise fringe tinsel jackets.
“These are the Taylor ‘Karma’ jackets,” said Kristin, 34.
With inspiration from TikTok and silk blouses and fringe from Amazon, Clare, 25, spent six hours gluing strips of the glittering tinsel onto each shirt.
The sisters, who are from Owensboro, Kentucky, were able to attend thanks to a generous gift of tickets from their sister-in-law Sarah Bibins. Sarah, in turn, was thanking them for watching her baby for a month while she worked, the sisters said.
“We couldn’t be more thankful,” Clare said.
— Domenica Bongiovanni
IndyStar spoke with Bryan West, who covers Taylor Swift for USA TODAY, about his thoughts what surprises may be ahead this weekend.
Which special guests could we see?
Will Travis Kelce be in the Circle City?
Will we see a Taylor and Travis wedding any time soon?
Read his takes here:USA TODAY’s Taylor Swift reporter makes his predictions for The Eras Tour shows in Indy
Got a picture to burn? You could swing by the Indiana State Museum, where guests at the TAY/Gate party are casting regrets, worries and loser exes into the Reputation shredder.
As the massive four-slot paper shredder steadily fills with thin black strips, Swiftie and Michigander Jenny Sugg contemplates what to write. She settles on: “The fear of not getting tickets.”
Sugg, along with friends Kourtney Holbrook from Indy and Courtney Holbrook from Dallas, are willing to wait through the concert’s opener to nab tickets as secondary-market scalpers (hopefully) give up and drop their prices.
“Even if she starts and gets a few songs in, we’ll go,” Sugg said of getting tickets last-minute.
At least one member of the trio has already seen Swift perform live in Dallas, Chicago, even Ireland. But any chance to see the pop star is worth a bit of travel and, in this case, hoping for a lucky break.
Admittedly, the early prognosis isn’t great. As the women deposit their papers into the shredder, Sugg’s slot malfunctions, leaving her paper — and her fears — squarely intact. She laughs to her friends. “We’re definitely not getting tickets.”
— Bradley Hohulin
When Catalina Graziano and Halley Walsh found information on the weekend’s activities at Indianapolis International Airport, it didn’t take them long to figure out how to spend part of their Friday afternoon before attending the first night of Swift’s concerts.
The two registered for “Swift City Sessions: Make & Take Art Stations” led by ArtMix at the Indianapolis Artsgarden, where they worked on felted flowers. Walsh, from Minneapolis, and Graziano, from Portland, Oregon, have been fans of Swift since her first album in 2006.
“She knows how to stay relevant,” said Graziano, 26.
“Her style changes but I think the quality of songwriting is consistent or even improving,” said Walsh, 27.
— Domenica Bongiovanni
Inviting everyone to make crafts for the weekend fit into ArtMix’s mission to make art accessible for all, president and CEO Britt Sutton said. Born in 1989 — the same year as Swift — Sutton is a Swiftie herself.
“I really admire her as a businesswoman, and I also love the fact that she makes crafting and creativity cool. As somebody who runs an arts education nonprofit, I love the fact that people are incorporating elements of the arts into their visit,” said Sutton, as she gestured toward a table full of people making friendship bracelets.
ArtMix’s “Swift City Sessions: Make & Take Art Stations” were created in partnership with the with Visit Indy, Downtown Indy, and Indiana Convention Center & Lucas Oil Stadium. Patrons can customize guitar picks, make buttons and friendship bracelets, and paint the number 13 on their hand, among other activities.
Those who are interested in attending can do so until 6 p.m. Friday and from 1 p.m. to about 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Some activities at the Artsgarden are full for Saturday, but others still have spots open and are free all weekend. Registration is closed, but you can find the schedule here, and ArtMix will accommodate as many walk-ins as possible.
— Domenica Bongiovanni
On Thursday, the first stadium-to-stadium friendship bracelet exchange took place between the New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome and Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium.
Lucas Oil tweeted a video of the large, inflatable bracelet being hung while thanking their BFF Caesars Dome for the gracious gift. Though, short-lived due to significant windy conditions, Lucas Oil tweeted that they know “that friendships like this never end.”
Read more:Looking for the giant Taylor Swift friendship bracelet at Lucas Oil? Here’s what happened.
— Kurtcia Collazo
Jennifer Block started listening to Taylor Swift early in the singer’s career during her “Tim McGraw” days. Now, the mother has passed her love of the music to daughters Parker, 11, and Emily, 8.
Swift “was born only five years after me, so her music is relatable and it’s grown as I’ve grown up, too,” said Block, 40.
Parker listens to Swift’s albums on vinyl — which she said she enjoys because she hears sides of the music that don’t necessarily come through when she listens to a streaming playlist.
“I really like listening to the whole album because I get to learn not, like, the most popular songs, but I learn some of the songs that not everybody knows,” said Parker, who stood near Monument Circle as songs including “Tied Together with a Smile” and “Shake It Off” played over the speakers.
Block and her girls came from Cartersville, Georgia, in a group of eight that includes family and best friends. Block calls it a miracle that the entire group was able to buy such coveted tickets to the same night — Swift’s Friday concert.
“We knew it was special when it happened,” she said.
— Domenica Bongiovanni
If you already entered to win Eras Tour tickets from the owner of the Indianapolis Colts, STAY IN LINE!
Jim Irsay posted on his X (previously Twitter) account that he had six more tickets to give away to three lucky winners and he was turning to his previous list of entrants.
Swifties coming through the Indy airport serenaded fellow travelers with a rendition of the star’s hit, “Love Story.”
Watch:Taylor Swift flash mob in Indianapolis International Airport ahead of concerts
A standalone rideshare pickup zone on South Street between Missouri and West streets will operate from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday through Sunday.
Only Uber, Lyft and other rideshare drivers will be given access to this area. Rideshare drivers will have to drive down South West Street to pick up riders and then can either continue south, going under I-70, or travel westbound on Kentucky Avenue to get out of the zone.
What to know:Picking up a Taylor Swift concertgoer? You need to be at parent pickup by 10 p.m.
— Jade Jackson
There will be a slew of road closures to manage traffic around Lucas Oil Stadium this weekend, so if you’re trying to get in or out of downtown, take heed. Many surface streets and some interstate exits will be closed, mostly after 11 p.m.
See the full list:How to navigate closed roads, traffic after Taylor Swift concerts in downtown Indy
The National Weather Service’s forecast includes sunny skies and a high of 57 degrees for Friday, dipping down to a chilly 37 degrees overnight.
Taylor Swift is coming to Indianapolis:Here are all the must-know details
Although we’re looking at pretty decent weather for a November Friday in Indy, the roof will be closed for all three shows, Lucas Oil Stadium officials said.
Generally, fans should expect to be able to enter with clear bags no larger than 12″ x 6″ x 12″. Logos smaller than 3.4″ x 4.5″ are OK as long as they’re on one side of the bag. Non-clear bags cannot be larger than 4.5″ x 6.5″, not including a strap or handle. Fans can also bring one gallon-size clear plastic bag.
Not allowed are backpacks, briefcases, luggage and non-clear and clear bags larger than the previously stated dimensions.
More, including what else isn’t allowed:Here’s the bag policy for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour at Indy’s Lucas Oil Stadium
In response to ticket scams involving Swift’s shows, Ticketmaster has changed the way fans can transfer tickets between accounts. Ticket transfers to Swift’s shows are now restricted to a 72-hour window before the event, Ticketmaster announced earlier this month. Previously, fans were able to swap tickets at any time.
That may not be relevant to you lucky N1 ticketholders, but N3 tickets may still be in limbo.
Read more:Last-minute Taylor Swift tickets in Indianapolis? Good luck with Ticketmaster transfer rule
The Eras Tour Merchandise Shop will be open to the public Oct. 30 through Nov. 2 at the Indiana Convention Center, as well as on all levels of Lucas Oil Stadium for ticketholders.
Read more for hours and location:How to buy Eras Tour merch in Indianapolis — and no, you don’t need a concert ticket
Reporters Alysa Guffey, Jade Jackson, Ryan Murphy and Ana Rocío Álvarez Bríñez contributed.
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