This year, I turned 41. I also put on sequins and friendship bracelets and drove over to Liverpool for what turned out to be one of the best nights of my life.
Unlike many people my age who’ve been along to the world-conquering Eras tour, I did not attend with and for the benefit of my child. My boy stayed at home. This was all for me.
For three and a half hours, I entirely forgot everything outside of that stadium. I joined in the fan-generated ad libs and dance moves that I’d learnt from Instagram. I fought back tears during the 10-minute rendition of All Too Well. I gasped over the surprise songs. And I scream-sang The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived to the point that my voice became a croak. It felt like being a teenager again, and I loved every second.
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This year, I turned 41. I also put on sequins and friendship bracelets and drove over to Liverpool for what turned out to be one of the best nights of my life.
Unlike many people my age who’ve been along to the world-conquering Eras tour, I did not attend with and for the benefit of my child. My boy stayed at home. This was all for me.
For three and a half hours, I entirely forgot everything outside of that stadium. I joined in the fan-generated ad libs and dance moves that I’d learnt from Instagram. I fought back tears during the 10-minute rendition of All Too Well. I gasped over the surprise songs. And I scream-sang The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived to the point that my voice became a croak. It felt like being a teenager again, and I loved every second.
Taylor manages to feel like she’s for everyone, of any age, in a way that very few pop singers do. Most new music’s not aimed at us Millennials, of course. So while I can appreciate Sabrina Carpenter’s clever lyrical quips, the teeny-tiny outfits ultimately age me out. I listen to Charli XCX, but I’m way too tired to have a brat summer.
For a very long time, I considered my taste in music to be ‘cool’. Twenty-one-year-old me (who worked in an indie club, wrote music reviews and listened exclusively to guitar bands) definitely wouldn’t be able to fathom this mid-life admiration for a chart-topping, globally popular all-American singer. So how exactly did I — married mother of one, home owner, outwardly sensible grown up — become a mega fan of Taylor Swift?
It’s taken a fair while for my slow-burn affection to bloom into a full-blown obsession. I can trace the roots back to around 2012 when the Red album came out. As she’s shape-shifted with each new record, I’ve become increasingly invested.
I’ve never left my love of indie behind; I’ve just become less concerned with only liking the ‘right’ genres and that’s made room for much more eclecticism in my music taste.
Taylor manages to feel like she’s for everyone, of any age, in a way that very few pop singers do. Most new music’s not aimed at us Millennials, of course. So while I can appreciate some of Sabrina Carpenter’s clever lyrical quips, the teeny-tiny outfits and unsubtle innuendo ultimately age me out. I can (and do) listen to Charli XCX, but I’m way too tired and old to have a brat summer. But Taylor’s infinitely catchy tunes, way with words, wholesome personality and glittering showmanship? They really are timeless.
I let myself get carried away with it all sometimes, but I’m ultimately grounded by the level headedness that age brings. It feels special to be on the inside of something as remarkable as what she’s created, but also objective enough not to buy into every last element of it.
Maybe this is why us more mature Swifties aren’t as much of a rarity as you might think. While there aren’t any others in my immediate circle, I know plenty of friends of friends, playground mums and similarly-aged work colleagues who share my devotion. The person I went to the Eras tour with is from the same generation as me. And while it was mainly tweens, teens and twenty-somethings present that night, there were plenty of people representing every other age bracket too.
My love for Taylor has layers to it. The devotee in me applauds every new achievement; the former music critic in me appreciates her work ethic, tenacity and consistent shrewdness. I let myself get carried away with it all sometimes, but I’m ultimately grounded by the level headedness that age brings. It feels special to be on the inside of something as remarkable as what she’s created, but also objective enough not to buy into every last element of it.
Whilst I might be in my ‘middle-aged mum’ era when fandom could be considered a bit cringe, I truly don’t care. In what can feel like a very grown-up world, I value the chance that Taylor Swift offers me to temporarily return to my girlhood. I’m lucky to have the daily joy she brings in my life, and to have experienced the unbridled glee I felt the moment she emerged on stage that sparkling June evening.
Whilst I might be in my ‘middle-aged mum’ era when fandom could be considered a bit cringe, I truly don’t care. In what can feel like a very grown-up world, I value the chance that Taylor Swift offers me to temporarily return to my girlhood.
So I wear my Eras tour sweatshirt on the school run. I put my sequins back on for Swiftogeddon, a club night dedicated solely to her music (which starts mercifully early in the evening so I can be home and in bed by midnight). At children’s birthday parties, I gossip with my 9-year-old’s female friends about our favourite Taylor songs. I sing along to Cruel Summer while I mop the kitchen floor.
And any derision I get because of it? Well, obviously, I’m just going to shake it off.
This is the first one!
Published tomorrow!