Taylor Swift fans dressed in sparkly clothes filled the room during Swifty Fest on Sept. 8 in the Buskirk-Chumley Theater.
The show kicked off with two different openers, Conner Loveless and Sara Stafford. Loveless performed a cover of “Call Your Mom,” by Noah Kahan, followed by one of his own songs, “California Roses.” Soon after, Stafford performed a cover of “Something in the Orange,” by Zach Bryan.
The Bejeweled Band, a Taylor Swift tribute band consisting of musicians Aimee Eisenmann and Maddie Lindley, played next. Covers spanned from her first single, “Tim McGraw,” released on her debut album in 2006, to Midnights’ “Lavender Haze.”
The president of IU’s Lovers Club, Brookelyn Lambright, attended the show Sunday afternoon. The Lovers Club brings together IU students who love Taylor Swift and hosts events like Taylor Swift jeopardy and friendship-bracelet making.
“I started it with a friend of mine, who is also a Swiftie,” she said. “We decided it would be really fun to just have a community of Swifties on campus.”
Attendees were encouraged to dress up to show support for their favorite Taylor Swift era, which portrays a distinct album from her career. Many of the Swifties arrived in outfits Swift has performed on stage in, such as the “Fearless” tassel dress and Swift’s “Red” outfit for her song “22,” with a shirt saying, “a lot going on at the moment.” One of the attendees, Emma Howard, wore diamonds on her face to symbolize the song “Bejeweled.” She said her favorite song to hear performed was “Don’t Blame Me” from the “Reputation” album.
“Literally hearing that one part, I don’t even know how to explain it,” she said. “You feel yourself ascending, like lifting out of your body.”
With Swifty Fest being a sold-out show, many volunteer ushers assisted in running this event smoothly. One volunteer, Jill Bird, said the event was great for the theater to put on because of the overwhelming demand for tickets for The Eras Tour.
“It was just really nice to have it at this time of day, where families could come out and the younger kids could come out and really have a good time,” she said. “People that aren't going to ever really see her live were able to have the Swiftie experience and they all loved it.”
Swift will come to Indianapolis for the Eras Tour on November 1-3, with Gracie Abrams as the opening act. Those who attended Swifty Fest were handed flyers from Gray Residential for a chance to win two tickets to see Swift, but anyone can enter on its website.
Fans of the show can find the two openers online. Loveless is on Spotify and Stafford can be found on her website. More information about The Bejeweled Band can be found on its website. IU students who may enjoy being in a group of Swifties can find more information about the Lovers Club on Instagram.
