Words by Julia Fullard // illustration by Nimuel D
On a wintry night in June, not even Melbourne’s slate grey sky, with its threats to eclipse the neon lights of Lygon Street, could dim the warm yellow glow emitting from Readings Carlton. Inside, my friends and I huddled alongside a group of fellow Taylor Swift fans to celebrate the release of her latest album, The Tortured Poets Department (TTPD), with trivia and a batch of Swift’s signature sugar cookies. A wall of expertly placed Swift records were the perfect backdrop to a night filled joyously with sequins, red lips and cardigans. Even in Melbourne’s most bitter cold, the American singer-songwriter spread her characteristic warmth.
It was mere months ago that Swift brought her landmark Eras Tour to Melbourne and our city sparkled with the splendour of it all. Pastel posters welcoming Swift to Melbourne were plastered along Malthouse Lane. A projection of Swift, along with the words ‘Welcome to Melbourne Swifties’, saw Flinders Street station awash in midnight blue. Trains and trams twinkled with costumes and glitter. Friendship bracelets were traded among fans of all ages, both longtime and new. From takeaway shops on Elizabeth Street to rooftop bars with Swift-themed bottomless brunches, Swift’s music lit up Melbourne one venue at a time. Not only this, but in keeping with her long-held tradition of donating to the local charities of cities she visits on tour, Swift made a generous donation to Foodbank Victoria while in Melbourne.
With each of us dressed in a different era and friendship bracelets creeping up our forearms, my friends and I were lucky enough to attend the first night of Swift’s Melbourne tour. It was the day of my 22nd birthday and I had brought along a red sign with the words ‘IDK about you…but today I turn 22’ in gold sharpie. Suffice it to say: Swift was radiant, the night magical, and everyone in attendance was awe-struck. As is tradition during the Red Era, Swift and her dancers integrated national slang into the song We Are Never Getting Back Together – substituting ‘like ever’ for ‘yeah nah’ to cheers from us all. Together with the two women beside us, my friends and I sang, danced and screamed the entire night. We revelled in the confetti. They all hugged me as I cried during marjorie, and pointed to my sign and I during 22. These two women were strangers to us. They had travelled from New Zealand. We first met when they asked to trade a particular bracelet they had seen on my wrist. Yet at the end of the night, as we left in a euphoric daze, we all agreed that we had made each other’s night.
After all, to be a fan of Swift is to welcome all. On our walk to an Eras Tour After Party, a Swiftie in the crowd offered to trade bracelets with my friends and I when they heard us talk about how we did not swap many. At the party, the DJ invited me on stage during 22 when he saw my sign and I, uncharacteristically, followed him without protest. I danced (albeit awkwardly) without fear of judgement, feeling unbridled joy as the crowd cheered me on. Afterwards, strangers found me in the crowd to wish me a happy birthday and, to show my thanks, I pulled bracelets from my arms to give them. Even as we left the party in the early morning, my friends and I traded bracelets amongst ourselves in the fluorescent white light of the tram stop.
Like a string of fairy lights crisscrossing the globe, Swift leaves a golden glow wherever her music is heard. I feel that glow while sitting in a circle on the floor of my friend’s apartment making friendship bracelets together while laughing, talking, and listening to folklore: the long pond studio sessions. I feel it when I am giving friendship bracelets to family members, friends, colleagues and their children, and when we sing Swift’s music together. I feel it as more and more people recognise the power in poetry, in womanhood, in bright colours and sequins. It is there when you sit on Facetime with your friend, watching grainy livestream footage of the tour in a different city or country — wondering what costumes she will wear, what songs she will sing on her guitar and flower-adorned piano during the acoustic set. I feel it while sharing videos of the new TTPD setlist, dubbed ‘Female Rage: The Musical by Swift — watching in wonder as Swift shows us the power in women’s voices. I see it as crowds of fans who missed out on tickets to Swift’s tour gather outside stadiums worldwide to sing along to the concert together (a trend now known as ‘Taylor-gating’).
I saw Swift’s glow, brighter than ever, in the crowds that filled Vienna’s Corneliusgasse (chosen for its name reminiscent of Swift’s song Cornelia Street), after the concerts were cancelled due to security concerns. In a dazzling display of resilience, these fans found joy and solace in Swift and her community. Together, they sang Swift’s songs, and wrote lyrics and messages to Swift in coloured chalk on the pavement. They traded friendship bracelets — some of which were pictured hanging from police officers’ radios and the branches of a newly crowned ‘friendship bracelet tree’ — and even recreated the moment Swift hands a fan the 22 hat at the concert.
Indeed, Swift’s glow was there, in all its golden glory, as I gathered in a bookstore with friends and strangers alike, sheltered from that oh-so-biting Melbournian cold, feeling totally and completely warm – inside and out.
