This past weekend the Twin Cities Metro was overtaken by Swiftmania as Taylor Swift performed twice at US Bank Stadium. Minneapolis was renamed “Swiftieapolis.” Governor Walz declared June 23 & 24 as Taylor Swift days in Minnesota. Over a hundred thousand people walked into US Bank Stadium to hear her Eras Tour concert. Something very special took place.
The concert received rave reviews. I rarely read a review of a concert. But still--I'm not used to such positivity as expressed in the two metro newspapers.
Ross Raihala of the St. Paul Pioneer Press wrote:
“Friday,
she [Taylor Swift] went the extra mile once again, and then kept on driving.
With a running time of more than three hours and an audience of about 64,000,
it was epic on a scale never before seen in a pop music concert. It’s easily
the most spectacular stadium tour ever. Yes, I said ever.”
Jon Bream of the Star Tribune wrote about the enormity of the event, He noted that the concert involved,
“44 songs, 14 dancers, six musicians, four
professional backup vocalists, 64,287 volunteer backup singers, three stages
connected by a runway, multiple set pieces and giant video screens. The concert
was Taylor Swift on steroids.
And
a bit later the clincher,
“Her
show Friday may be the most fan-fulfilling show I've ever seen in 48 years of
reviewing.”
I got to view the concert through the lens of my daughter, Hannah, who went on Friday night. She was one of the tens of thousands of people who stayed on their computer last November when the tickets went on sale. She got some. And there was no way she would miss this concert.
For a while it seemed like she was going on the best prom date possible. Hannah gathered at the house of one of her best friends early in the afternoon. With her other besties she they took pictures of outfits and posted them on Social Media. She sang and danced late into the night and came home well after midnight.
But the metaphor of prom doesn’t work--it doesn't capture the passion that Hannah, her besties, and tens of thousands of others have for Taylor Swift.
Taylor Swift speaks brilliantly to the lives of young women. I don’t understand the connection and as an older white guy I feel a bit like an intruder trying to understand it. But I’m blown away by Taylor Swift’s genius. The tens of thousands of young women who saw Swift perform received something that they don’t find anywhere else in our culture. Taylor Swift understands their angst—and speaks directly into it. Taylor Swift writes songs that speak to their spirits. And her talent goes much beyond being a song writer. Taylor Swift is a producer, dancer, videographer and much more.
The bottom line: she connects.
And sure, Taylor Swift is an industry unto herself that could be seen as excessive. According to Forbes her net worth is 740 million. And it’s not hard to do a mind exercise of multiplying the cost of a ticket by all the people who walked through US Bank Stadium and think, “she’s making a lot of money.”
I spent much of the weekend trying to understand her success. I watched some of the concert on Friday live on someone’s Tik-Tok account, and started watching videos of songs from the concert on the Star Tribune web site. I read articles, watched more of her songs on other web sites, saw a hour of “Miss Americana” on Netflix and watched her commencement speech given at NYU.
I think I have a sense of why she is so popular, but at some level it's best for me to sit back and say, “bravo!” Taylor Swift brought over a hundred of thousand people together this past weekend—most of them were women. They left happy, full of joy, with an experience they still might talk about in 25 years. No one was mad at the world or the government or were manipulated to support someone’s agenda. They screamed and sang and danced and ultimately connected.
This is what church aims to be. We leave in a better place than when we arrive.
Taylor Swift and the Eras Tour is on to Cincinnati. Whether we attended the concert or not, we're left with many memories.
Bravo, Taylor Swift. Bravo!
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3 comments:
Yes! from a colleague in ministry in NJ who went to the MetLife stadium show. She is brilliant and the church can learn much from her power to connect people.
Rev Amy Lincoln
I saw this on fb. This is Harvey Andruss Class of 81 Carl. I worked both nights of both concerts for the security company who checks bags and door entry for USBank. I did precisely because I wanted to take in modern stadium performance events, at least from a distance, without contributing too much to the machine. You could call it a retired geezer side hustle done for the thrill of it. I dont disagree with most of what you portray here, but the dimension of money is worth footnoting. The unbelievable stage, cgi, ai video integration was mind boggling and costed around $10m. I think she grosses about that per concert so yes the 3/4 mil net worth is something to examine as far as motives. Lowest ticket prices were $500 and some went for $14,000. So when you say she connects with her audience it is one of immense class privilege. Also, I would liken her followers to a near-cult witth all the screams beingnlouder than the music. That's worth studying too. Do they want to be her or do they just identify with all her relationship struggles? What was once 3 chords and the truth is now 4 chord loop and the breakup. It's a sweet spot for young white rich women, especially today if you look at the demographics on marriage, etc. I won't belabor, but spectacle is America and she is the top of that this summer.
While Taylor Swift is definitely a force to be reckoned with in the secular musical world. There is no denying her talent.
As a Christians should we be heaping on the praises when her songs are about ex-lovers and revenge? Shouldn’t we be concerned spiritually for the thousands of young girls who listen to her music?
I agree we want to connect as a church and walk away every Sunday morning fulfilled, refreshed, more knowledgeable and ready to engage others in Jesus’s name.
However, your message here is abundantly clear - Bravo Taylor!
Sadly there are not any Bravos for God and and what is morally right for our children.
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