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A look at what went down at Taylor Swift’s Toronto Eras Tour concert last night, Canada Reviews

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More than 50,000 Swifties crowded the downtown core on Thursday night to watch Taylor Swift perform on the opening night of her much-anticipated Eras Tour in Toronto! Swifties across the city celebrated the singer by passing out friendship bracelets prior to the event. These bracelets are super significant in the fan culture surrounding Swift’s concerts — fans create and trade them as a way to connect and share their love for Swift and her music! The bracelet trend started after the release of Swift’s 2022 “Midnights” album. In the hit song, You’re on Your Own, Kid, she sings “…so make the friendship bracelets” (and fans are doing just that)…

Even the Toronto Police (and their horses) got in on the bracelet action!

Earlier in the afternoon, the superstar had a Toronto Police escort usher her motorcade along the Gardiner Expressway to ensure her safe and smooth arrival to the Rogers Centre.

Although the sold-out concert wouldn’t officially start until 6:45 pm, the lineup to get into the arena stretched for blocks, hours before the doors even opened. Quite a few people noted that this would be good for the economy (and they’re right — about 240,000 concert-goers are expected to attend the series of Eras concerts in Toronto, contributing to an estimated $282 million in economic impact and over $152 million in direct spending in the city).

Once fans reached the arena, they were greeted by a giant 140-foot Taylor Swift friendship bracelet (which was previously featured at Eras Tour New Orleans and Indianapolis concerts).

Before the opening act, the Indigenous peoples of Treaty 13 were acknowledged. A prominent message was displayed to the thousands of concertgoers, which read, “We acknowledge that we are performing today at Rogers Centre, located on Treaty 13 lands — traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit and the traditional home of many other nations including the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chippewa, and Wendat peoples. We acknowledge the First Nations, Inuit, and Metis peoples whose original and treaty territories we stand upon.”

At 6:45 pm, singer Gracie Abrams kicked off the evening by performing her hit song “Us.”, which features Swift, and has been nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 67th annual Grammy Awards!

Swift strutted on stage at around 7:50 pm and performed a range of hits from her near-two-decade-long discography. She led the night with shortened versions from her 2019 “Lover” album: Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince, Cruel Summer, The Man, You Need to Calm Down, and Lover. The stage was filled with stunning visuals, showcasing different backdrops for each era of her musical career.

She then belted out shortened versions from her 2008 “Fearless” album, including Fearless, You Belong With Me, and Love Story.

Fans raved throughout the night as she sang favs from albums like “Red”, “Speak Now”, “reputation”, “Midnights,” and “1989”, giving Swifties a good mix of classics and new hits.

Perhaps the highlight of the night was when Swift performed hits from her 2020 folklore  album! Swift, adorned in a flowing white bohemian frock, told the crowd of screaming fans that the entire folklore album “just belongs” in Canada.  “It’s very like natural, wilderness, beautiful…forests that have been there since the beginning of time.”

Swift completed the 45-song concert with Karma from her 2022 “Midnights” album, although she changed a lyric to reference her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce (who reportedly made a surprise appearance at a Toronto restaurant the night before).

“Karma is the guy on the Chiefs, coming straight home to me,” Swift swooned to the crowd.

Swift will continue her six-night residency in Toronto tonight.  The star is performing across two weekends, Nov. 14-16 and 21-23, at the Rogers Centre.

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