"Swifties" from all over will be descending on downtown Toronto beginning Thursday as Taylor Swift hits the stage at the Rogers Centre for six separate shows as part of the pop superstar’s North American leg of The Eras Tour.
That “T-Swift Fever” is also being felt locally, as many attempt to snag elusive last-minute tickets through contests, plan how they will get to and from the venue and finish up making those infamous friendship bracelets that fans are well known to exchange at shows.
Swift's run of Toronto performances are set for Nov. 14, 15 and 16, as well as Nov. 21, 22 and 23.
Jackson Cain and his seven-year-old daughter, Quinn, will be heading to the Rogers Centre together next Saturday (Nov. 23) for the big show, and are excited to finally see their favourite artist together live for the first time.
Cain credits his wife for introducing them to Swift’s music, their love for which has only continued to grow with each new record. He even has memories of his daughter singing the song Lover when she was two while colouring.
“I have always been a fan of live music and I remember very early on promising Quinn that I would take her to see Taylor Swift perform live for her first concert," he said. "It came to fruition and now that promise is coming true on Saturday, Nov. 23.
"When I made the promise, I never thought it would be a world tour of this magnitude and the largest music tour in the world,” he admitted.
Tickets were near impossible to get and took a team effort to snag, Cain said.
“We had feelers out everywhere that we were wanting to get the barcode. We were so fortunate that friends of ours got access to four tickets and knew how much it would mean to our family if we got them," he added. "They took two tickets and we were fortunate to purchase the other two … so the four of us will be closing down the Rogers Centre next weekend.”
One of the things the father-daughter duo loves most about the pop star’s music is her ability to bridge gaps between so many different demographics.
“She and her music bridge the gap between different races, cultural beliefs, genders — you name it. In our case, it breaks the age gap where a two-year-old girl and her then-31-year-old dad are jamming to the same music. I don’t imagine that was the case with even bands like the Beatles and Rolling Stones, but I could be wrong," said Cain.
"Almost nothing beats a near-40-year-old dad and his seven-year-old daughter belting the bridge to Cruel Summer in the truck,” he said.
And that father-daughter bonding is soon to hit another level when they experience the show together.
“I asked Quinn and she said she is most excited about the Reputation Era. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see a generational artist perform her art live and experience the biggest tour in the world," Cain said.
Angela Kennedy has been a self-proclaimed "Swiftie" since the singer's first album was released in 2006, and is excited to attend the show on Friday, Nov. 15 with her four closest friends.
"I'm the same age as Taylor, so I sort of feel like I grew up alongside her with every album she released. Her music has been there for me through so many stages of life, from college days to motherhood," said Kennedy.
She's had the opportunity to see most of the pop star's big stadium concerts. Each one was a memorable experience, said Kennedy, and when she heard of the Eras tour happening, she knew the chances of getting tickets would be "insanely challenging."
"I had every family member signing up to be a verified fan for Ticketmaster in hopes of getting a code. I was not one of the chosen for getting verified fan access, but one of my oldest (and) best friends whom I've gone to every Taylor concert with was a lucky person who got a code to Ticketmaster's ticket release and we were in shock when she actually was able to get four tickets," said Kennedy.
"The best part of it is I get to see the Eras tour with the four best friends I've gone to see every Taylor concert with before. (It's a) full-circle moment. We've lived through all these Eras together, so it's surreal we get to attend the Eras tour together ... We've had these tickets now for over a year, so the anticipation has been a long time coming (and) I can't wait."
Local businesses are also getting in on the excitement around the tour.
Sophie Rennie, owner of Sweet & Sassie Bake Shop in Barrie, has not been able to get her hands on tickets to any of the shows, so instead she’s decided to turn her inspiration of the singer-songwriter into something else nearly as sweet as attending the three-hour show. That would be a full Eras-themed cake experience.
“Since securing tickets for her Toronto shows has been incredibly challenging, I decided to bring the tour to life through my cakes,” she said.
Rennie crafted a stage entirely out of cake and decorated 10 additional cakes, each of which represent a different era of Taylor’s journey, along with matching cupcakes.
“It’s been a labour of love that combines my passion for baking with Taylor’s inspiring music,” said Rennie, who admits to being a “Swiftie” since she was a kid. “I went to one of her concerts when I was about nine or 10 … but I fell asleep about halfway, so I really want to go back and get the full experience.”
Now 21, Rennie said her hope is not only to celebrate the Eras Tour in a fun way through her cakes, but to also share this experience with the community.
“I did a poll on my Instagram and … I was really amazed to see how many Taylor Swift fans there are in our community," she said. "Her Eras Tour has been the hot topic for the past year and many fans know that (all) her shows are super challenging to get tickets. Both my best friend, my sister and myself are all huge Swifties, so we are hoping that by some miracle … we are able to attend.”
Rennie went through 30 pounds of butter and 90 cups of sugar to create the cakes and spent nearly two full days in the kitchen between baking and decorating, but said it was worth it to show her love for her favourite singer.
That said, she admits it would be pretty cool if Swift or her team became aware of the sweet tribute and decided to invite her down to one of the Toronto shows.
Barrie-based Last Call Limos is also jumping on the Taylor Swift train. The company is transforming its 24-passenger party bus into a full Swiftie experience, says co-owner Chris Sellers-McCaw.
“When they announced it coming to Toronto … I knew we needed to be a part of this, so that’s when we started the building blocks of putting together some form of Swift-bus down to these shows," he said. "I knew it was going to be big and Barrie is close enough that there would be enough people going that we could make it work.
“It’s going to be a generational thing. I think I enjoy seeing that a lot of people are parents with their children and there aren’t too many artists that are able to bridge that gap," added Sellers-McCaw.
He said they will be loading up the bus with Taylor Swift fans and decking it out with custom vinyl Swiftie-themed decor to create a fan party on wheels to get them down to Toronto for the shows.
“We’ve got a big-screen TV in there, a stereo system and lights, so we will be playing Taylor Swift music on the way down," said Sellers-McCaw. "It will be like a pre-party, tailgate kind of thing."
And although he's not a fan himself, Sellers-McCaw considers himself “Swiftie-adjacent” because of his children.
“When it’s played 1,000 times a day, all of the time, you have to like it no matter what.”
