This time last year, I was just under a month away from seeing Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour live at Wembley Stadium. And, yes, you would be correct in assuming that I talked about little else in the months preceding and following this event. Seeing Taylor perform live music was magnificent.

This might seem like an early conclusion to my question, but I must admit to initially approaching Swift’s concert from a more conflicted perspective. I have always loved live music, but I have never felt particularly at home in huge crowds of people. And if there’s one thing Taylor Swift does, it’s pack an entire stadium full of dedicated fans at every concert she puts on. However, experiencing The Eras Tour at Wembley Stadium – where a total of 89,000 fans attended per night, 267,000 across the three shows – I felt remarkably safe.

Going to see live music demands logistics. Undoubtedly. The physical ordeal of actually getting to and from concerts can be enough to put anyone off. I am lucky to live close enough to Wembley to avoid the trains and be dropped off about a 40 minute walk from the stadium, but trying to find my friend in the sea of people streaming out from the train station was just the first of several hurdles that day.

It’s not as helpful as you might think to be guided by “I’m wearing a cowboy hat and a sparkly top!” when half the attendees were in identical attire. Whilst queuing, we began chatting to some other fans, who informed us they’d been drinking water steadily all morning as well as drinks high in electrolytes to avoid dehydration during the concert. I thought sadly of the half bottle of water I’d drunk, still in my shoulder bag. Needless to say, I had not made similar preparations. 

The art of securing and then maintaining a good position in the crowd is also something to consider. My friend and I were lucky that we arrived early enough to stumble upon an optimal spot fairly quickly, and then took turns guarding said spot when using the toilets or filling up water-bottles. We were later unfortunate enough to encounter the slightly drunk boyfriend of another Swiftie, who spilled beer on us both about fifteen minutes into the Fearless set (and then swore he didn’t).

I wore shoes that, although they certainly didn’t add any height (which would have been useful for seeing over other people’s heads to the performers onstage), meant I could withstand the four-plus hours of singing and dancing without much difficulty. There were, of course, people who chose seated options, but in the mad rush of buying tickets, I opted for a closer (if more physically challenging) viewing point. 

Here, of course, the argument for recorded concerts comes into play. When watching a concert from the comfort of your own home, you can have a better view than those at the back of the stadium, and for less money. The opportunities for getting more snacks and drinks are endless, and when the viewing is finished, you can simply go to bed rather than having to take a packed train journey home. 

The world of professionally recorded concerts and live-streaming on social media has inevitably changed the game for many fans. Taylor Swift’s film The Eras Tour premiered in cinemas in 2023, and was met with huge success, with Billboard commenting that it was ‘easily the biggest opening for a concert film of all time.’ Fans who live-streamed their experience at different Eras Tour shows had tens of thousands of fans tuning in to watch. The increased popularity of concert films and fan livestreams has made concerts more physically and economically accessible for fans: resale prices for tickets reached above $28,000, compared to a cinema ticket just over $20 to see The Eras Tour film. Yet, as someone who attended both the film and the concert’s live music, the magical and electric atmosphere of The Eras Tour live was incomparable with the cinematic experience. 

The feeling in the stadium was ecstatic: the united joy of tens of thousands of fans singing every word of every song, and an entire stadium screaming “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” was an experience I won’t forget in a hurry. The entire crowd stamping and chanting for several minutes after “Champagne Problems” (taken from Swift’s Evermore album) genuinely brought a tear to my eye. Indeed, the very atmosphere of Taylor Swift’s concerts seems to be a large attraction: 50,000 fans gathered outside the stadium in Munich just to listen to Taylor sing.

The mass popularity of The Eras Tour might reflect the continuing popularity of live music – more than 10 million fans attended Taylor’s Eras Tour in total – or it might highlight the dedication of Taylor’s fanbase. For me, watching videos of the concerts back and screaming “I should’ve been there!” as a tiny, blurry Ed Sheeran is brought out on stage, does not hold quite the same allure as seeing it in person, however distantly, and being there to enjoy the music live with your friends and other fans. 

Live music will continue to be something I enjoy selectively, when I can. I’ve been twice to BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend, where the wholesome, relatively relaxed vibe of the festival is perfect for me. I’ve also been to concerts where the crowds are more lively and less respectful, and the distant, mostly obscured view of the band has not justified the overall experience and cost. Perhaps it largely depends on the singer or band in question, and the atmosphere their concerts create.

For The Eras Tour however, I will always be overjoyed I got to be there in person. And nothing quite beats the thrill of saying, with quiet but smug satisfaction, “yes, I was there when Taylor brought out Travis Kelce.”