For better or worse, I spent this summer having my travel plans dictated by the itinerary of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. In mid-July, Swift played Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, and I flew from Philadelphia to join her and about 70,000 other fans. I’m a lifelong Swiftie, and I’ve met friends from all over the country through a shared love of Swift. My friends and I decided to convene in Colorado because of the opening act; Swift’s openers vary city to city, and Denver was the final of a mere handful of shows MUNA, one of our favorite bands, joined Swift for.

My friend Camryn, and me with Katie Gavin, the lead singer of MUNA.

Headlines have been dropping about Swift near-singlehandedly reviving the struggling travel-related industries of hotels and airlines still suffering from the pandemic. I am among the many who can say the reason I traveled this summer was the pop star.

Traveling for Swift was what it took to remind me of the autonomy I now have as a young adult. A lot of my development feels like it got arrested by the pandemic, with study abroad essentially cancelled for my graduating class, and travel of all kinds continuing to feel high-risk. The Eras Tour renewed my interest in going places, in seeing more of the world and in having story-worthy experiences.

Camryn and me outside the stadium.

As I emerged from Denver International Airport into the non-oppressive air of a summer morning in Colorado, it was like the world was widening before me, the mountains taking shape on the horizon telling me I was somewhere completely new. It had been a while since I had been on a plane — the last time I had traveled far enough from home to need one was well before the pandemic, when I flew to Toronto to visit a friend.

Flying to Denver to see MUNA and Taylor Swift at The Eras Tour reminded me the rest of the world is more accessible than I give it credit for, that leaving the East Coast is possible, and that the country (and the world) is wide. I never would have flown to Denver alone if I hadn’t known I was going to have the comforting and familiar presence of Swifties (and Taylor herself) on the other side, but having now planned a trip with friends once, doing it again (maybe not for a Swift concert) can only get easier.

My friends and I in front of the Eras Tour stage.

The Mile High City was incredibly welcoming to Swift and her legions; I spotted signs in more than one storefront welcoming Swifties to Denver. My friends and I stayed at The Art, a gorgeous hotel that we got an amazing deal on through a stroke of luck, and though we did not have as much time to explore the city as we would have wanted, we still had a day to walk around — we got brunch, found cafés and shops, and soaked up the city.

One of many Taylor-related signs throughout Denver.

It seemed that lurking around every corner was someone wearing Swift’s merchandise or a blindingly sparkly dress, clearly in Denver for the show. I struck up a conversation about the concert with my seatmate on the plane ride home who was sporting her Eras Tour sweatshirt as a badge of honor the same way I was. Every time I travel, I am taken aback by how many other people are going to the same location at the exact same time I am. The reason both me and the woman next to me went all the way to Denver to see a Taylor Swift show when she had played in Philadelphia a few months prior may seem inscrutable to a lot of people, but the power of Taylor Swift is like that — she works in mysterious ways.

My view for Night 1.

My view for Night 2.

— Hannah Gruen, administrative coordinator