By Amani SalahudeenOn November 1st, 2022, Taylor Swift announced The Eras Tour 2023 on Good Morning America. I was ecstatic and nervous because, come on, who wouldn’t be? Once I was sure who would be accompanying me to The Eras Tour, I immediately signed up for presale. One of the biggest obstacles was getting the tickets for the concert.
The Hustle
I remember the morning I intended to purchase tickets, I woke up during the early hours of dawn. I barely slept the night because the excitement was too real. I wanted to pray Fajr, first, and then open up the Ticketmaster site. I got in the queue for tickets, twice and both times Ticketmaster kicked me out. I refreshed and stayed online for hours wondering if I’ll even be able to afford tickets. The line initially said there were 2000+ people in front of me and at this moment I thought there was no way I would even stand a chance at getting affordable tickets.
As I waited, I hopped on Discord and Reddit to see if there were any success story tips. There were plenty so I made sure to wait in the queue and not move from the line. I had my phone nearby just in case the site crashed again.
Finally, after a long wait, my turn was here! I applied the filters and immediately looked for tickets. I tried to get the first two that would be seated next to each other but someone bought those before I could. I was about to lose hope until I saw two tickets within my budget. I grabbed them as fast as I could. I GOT THE TICKETS! I couldn’t believe it.
A Modest Concert Look
Leading up to the event I thought about how I was going to put together a modest outfit. When Midnights was announced I started looking for ways to incorporate each Taylor Swift era into my outfit.
My dad is wearing a shirt that says “a lot going on at the moment” and I am wearing a Midnights theme dress. My jacket has all the Taylor Swift albums on the back. I have red-themed sunglasses clipped to my Taylor Swift-themed lanyard.
I made friendship bracelets and even sold some online to other swifties who didn’t have time to make the bracelets when Taylor announced that we should all make friendship bracelets.
The iconic 13 on the left hand is Taylor’s favorite number and a reference to the Speak Now era. Above are close-ups of what my Jean jacket looked like from the back and pictures of Taylor-themed bracelets that I made.
A Happy Swiftie
It was mind-blowing to sing All Too Well with other swifties at a stadium. I also loved connecting with other Swifties at the hotel room and at the venue.
It was an incredible experience to hear all of my favorite songs for the first time. I never would have expected this to happen. My experience was definitely different because I was the only Hijabi that I could see at the venue. Other Muslim men were selling fan-made merch outside the venue which was cool to see. If you’re new to concerts I recommend planning and making sure you save up to see your favorite one. Leave snacks in your car and plenty of drinks to keep you hydrated. Bring extra money in case you need water at the venue. Be prepared for long lines and just enjoy the moment. The wait will be worth it!