I've got a confession… I'm a completely committed, singing, dancing, bracelet wearing, gold tassel dress-owning Swiftie mum – and I love it.
Last weekend I took my tween daughter to Taylor Swift's Eras Tour at Edinburgh's Murrayfield Stadium, and five days later the pair of us are still on cloud nine, buzzing from the amazing atmosphere of the night and finally seeing Taylor live.
It didn't surprise us at all that fans dancing at the Edinburgh concerts set off earthquake monitors. The vibrations were recorded up to six kilometers away, revealed the British Geological Survey, and us Swifties transmitted enough power to charge 6,000 car batteries.
When Taylor sang her epic song 'Ready For It', the crowd went wild, as we did for every hit she played. Even Tay Tay herself, as her fans affectionately call her, was amazed by the stadium's noise levels on Sunday evening, telling us: "Oh, this crowd is different!"
Maybe it was because it was Taylor's final Scotland date, or because the sun was shining, but the feeling in the stadium was so uplifting. We were there to party!
Even a short interlude of rain didn't dampen our spirits, and Taylor pointed out one very British moment. As raindrops began to fall, the entire crowd simultaneously put on their waterproof ponchos and jackets. Taylor laughed and said she's never seen a crowd do a collective costume change before. That's us Brits, always prepared.
My daughter – a die-hard Swiftie – didn't care a stuff about a few raindrops as she lived her best life singing every lyric and gazing in wonder at her idol. Bopping along to hits like 'Cruel Summer', 'You Belong to Me' and 'I Knew you were Trouble', we enjoyed the best mum-daughter bonding night ever.
If you have tickets to an Eras Tour concert coming up in the UK, I've put some tips together for you based on our experience, to help you have an equally amazing time…
The outfits
One of the best parts of Taylor's concerts, other than her of course, is how much everyone dresses up – it's like one big happy fancy dress party.
Most people tend to pick their favourite album for their outfit theme, which is what we did. I chose a tasselly gold Fearless-style dress while my daughter went for a Lover-inspired white top, shimmery pink skirt and cute pink jewel-embellished cowgirl boots.
We wanted to look glam and fun but stay comfy and warm, so I opted for trainers, and her boots were flat. We also wore skin-coloured tights which we were very thankful for when the temperature dropped in the evening. We took a zip up hoodie and light jacket each and I carried the jackets in my small rucksack (we were allowed a bag max A4 size).
Likewise, if you don't want to dress up, that's fine too – anything goes.
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The bracelets
The bracelet swapping trend at Taylor's concerts is so wholesome and fun, and the best way of making new friends – I really recommend joining in if you fancy it.
In the weeks leading up to Edinburgh, my daughter and I spent hours making Eras Tour themed clay bead bracelets (we bought the packs online), each with a different album name on. It was such lovely quality time together. She said we needed 'loads of bracelets up our arms', so we set to work.
At the concert, we met so many other Swifties who asked to exchange bracelets. My daughter even gave bracelets to a policeman and security guard which made me smile – they loved it.
Accessories are everything so dabbed glitter on our faces, wore hair jewels and stuck cute Taylor-themed temporary tattoos on our arms and hands.
One of the things my daughter was most excited about was the flashing wristband everyone gets given at the concert. Top tip: if you keep the little paper tab, you can reinsert it after the concert to save the battery and use it again.
Food and drink
As with many live music venues, Murrayfield didn't let us bring in our own food and drink, although you could take in water bottles to refill. We found that security teams were handing out free water bottles around the stadium, which was brilliant. This may vary depending on the concert venue, so I advise you to check in advance.
There were plenty of food stalls dotted around the stadium for us to refuel and the queues were short, thankfully. We made sure we had a big early dinner before the concert.
Loo breaks
Take your own toilet paper! We both needed the loo mid-concert and were faced with that nightmare scenario of the loos running out of paper.
I also recommend walking a little further around the stadium than your nearest ladies'. The loos near our exit had a huge queue, but when we went to the next loo, it was quiet, so we didn't miss too much of Taylor.
The merch situation
I really advise buying your merch before the concert starts. Yes, there may be a big queue but we left it until the concert had finished and sadly the smaller hoodie sizes had sold out. I had one very gutted daughter.
Beware, the prices are pretty steep… £70 for a hoodie and £40 for a T-shirt but many Swifties will be desperate for one. Yes, we got a T-shirt…
Remember the confetti!
Taylor Swift confetti (basically cut up coloured tissue paper) is a big deal. During the concert, the confetti falls from above onto the floor area and Swifties scoop it up to take home as a memento. It's a good idea to take a little bag to collect it in.
Getting home
Prepare for crazy long queues! Like any concert, it can take ages to get out of the stadium and homebound. We saw some people leave before Taylor's last song to beat the rush, while others hung around the stadium as long as they could.
We chose the latter but were then faced with the longest queue I've ever seen for the tram! Can I just say a huge THANK YOU to Edinburgh bus service for putting on your buses at the end of the tram queue, which not many people seemed to know about and the queue was tiny.
With a tired daughter at midnight, this was incredible. So, my advice is to explore all transport options, rather than follow the crowd.
The next day
Expect to suffer from PETD (Post Eras Tour Depression) After such an incredible night watching Taylor, the next morning seemed super flat.
We lay in bed watching the many videos we had filmed, singing along again and wishing we were back at Murrayfield. What an incredible night, and one we'll remember forever. Taylor, you totally rocked!
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