They鈥檙e united by a devotion to all things Taylor Swift.
Meet the superfans heading for Vancouver for the final three shows of the singer鈥檚 Eras Tour.
鈥業 DON鈥橳 KNOW THAT I鈥橵E EVER BELONGED THAT HARD鈥�
Before she was a friendship-bracelet-making, glitter-wielding Swiftie, Maya Klein was a Deadhead.
Klein, from Castle Rock, Colo., is still a fan of the rock group The Grateful Dead, but was slowly converted into a Taylor Swift fan by The Eras Tour.
鈥淚鈥檓 a classic rocker and we鈥檙e all kind of snobs about our music,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 just thought 鈥榯his girl is beautiful, so they give her hits to sell鈥� and I could not have been more wrong.鈥�
She now deems Swift 鈥渢he best songwriter in history.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 looking at you, Sir Paul McCartney, and I鈥檓 looking at you, Mr. Bob Dylan and all the classic rockers can fight me over this, because if they don鈥檛 agree with me, they just haven鈥檛 listened,鈥� she said.
鈥淭his woman is gifted in the extreme, and so that鈥檚 why it feels OK, at 52, that I鈥檝e made 470 bracelets like a psychopath.鈥�
Klein has tickets to Saturday鈥檚 show in Vancouver, having seen the Milan show in the summer.
鈥淚t was the most fantastic show I think I鈥檝e ever seen, and not even necessarily because of my view,鈥� she said, noting she was in the 鈥渘osebleeds.鈥�
鈥淚t was 100 per cent the Swifties. I don鈥檛 know that I鈥檝e ever belonged that hard anywhere before.鈥�
Klein is bringing a copy of Swift鈥檚 Eras Tour book to Vancouver to treat like a yearbook.
鈥淚 am taking this thing with some silver Sharpies and some glitter markers, and I鈥檓 gonna beg Swifties to please find your song, sign it,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his thing is gonna be the most amazing concert memento.鈥�
Favourite Swift song: 鈥渓oml鈥�
Favourite Swift era: 鈥淭he Tortured Poets Department鈥�
鈥業 SPENT HALF THE SHOW IN THE BATHROOM鈥�
Kayla Zimmerer from Fresno, Calif., hopes it鈥檚 third time lucky in Vancouver.
A self-described 鈥渆lder Swiftie,鈥� who鈥檚 been a fan since Swift鈥檚 2006 debut album, Zimmerer has already attended two Eras Tour shows last year, in Las Vegas and Seattle.
In Vegas in March, Zimmerer was in a VIP box 鈥� but she forgot her glasses. She says she is 鈥渂lind as a bat鈥� without them.
鈥淥ne of our friends that was there in the box 鈥� we shared glasses for half the show. So, even though I had gone, I still felt like I hadn鈥檛 really seen it and experienced the show.鈥�
Then came the Seattle show in July, by which time Zimmerer was five months pregnant.
鈥淚 spent half the show in the bathroom, (and was) sitting down for most of the show,鈥� she said.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e sitting on the floor, you can鈥檛 see the screens and I barely got through standing for one full song 鈥� which was 鈥楲ong Live,鈥� which I will hold on to 鈥� but it was really, really sad.鈥�
When the Vancouver dates were added late to the tour, it became a chance to finally get the full Eras Tour experience.
Zimmerer and her husband scored resale tickets for Saturday night, while a friend who is joining them in Vancouver bought a solo ticket for Sunday. Zimmerer is still hoping to find a last-minute ticket to join her friend for that show, too.
Favourite song: 鈥淎fterglow鈥�
Favourite eras: 鈥淢idnights,鈥� 鈥淭he Tortured Poets Department鈥�
13 CHOCOLATE BARS? 鈥業T鈥橲 A SIGN鈥�
Calgary resident Heather Roy had almost given up hope on attending The Eras Tour, missing out in every ticket lottery and competition she tried.
Then her 12-year-old daughter, Harper, went trick-or-treating on Halloween. In her bag at the end of the night were 13 full-sized chocolate bars. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an Easter egg from Taylor,鈥� Harper declared. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a sign we鈥檙e going to get tickets.鈥�
Thirteen is Swift鈥檚 favourite number. She wrote the number on the back of her hand before each show of her 2009-2010 Fearless tour.
The next day, Nov. 1, Roy says she got a call from a dentist鈥檚 office that had been running a promotional contest. The Roys had won two tickets to Saturday鈥檚 show in Vancouver.
Swift鈥檚 music provides an ongoing link to Roy鈥檚 first-born daughter, Evelyn, also a fan, who died of cancer in 2020.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just this connecting point through Taylor to good memories in dark spaces and just brought us so much joy,鈥� Roy says.
Favourite song: 鈥�22鈥�
Favourite era: 鈥淔olklore,鈥� 鈥淓vermore鈥�
鈥業T STARTED OUT WITH JUST MAKING BRACELETS鈥�
Becky Mercereau is a driving force of Taylor Swift fandom in an unlikely location 鈥� Hudson鈥檚 Hope, the tiny B.C. Interior community best known as one of the oldest European settlements in the province.
She and her 14-year-old daughter secured tickets for Saturday鈥檚 show through a friend of a friend who let Mercereau use her Ticketmaster account. 鈥淲e were successful, but it was a bit of a nail-biter,鈥� she says.
That was more than a year ago. To keep up the excitement, Mercereau helped form a group of local Swifties who would meet monthly. 鈥淚t started out with just making bracelets,鈥� she says.
Then it grew. Now, they get together for Swift-themed barbecues, brunches, listening parties, and Kansas City Chiefs football games 鈥� Swift鈥檚 boyfriend Travis Kelce is a player and Swift is a regular at Chiefs games.
The group from Hudson鈥檚 Hope and nearby communities has about eight regulars but the biggest turnout was 17. 鈥淎 cool thing about our group is that it spans six decades,鈥� she says of the attendees鈥� ages.
She says that after the concert, she and her daughter plan to meet with the group to share their experience, and exchange gifts. They also hope to keep the meetings going.
鈥淲e did say we should continue, probably not every month, but we鈥檇 love to still get together and do some fun things together,鈥� she says.
Favourite song: 鈥淓xile鈥�
Favourite era: 鈥淢idnights鈥�
