If you haven’t been living in a labyrinth, you probably know that Taylor Swift recently announced her Eras Tour, with fans eagerly anticipating her return to the stage after four new albums and two re-recorded studio albums. Our love of Swift is nothing new, as both of us are longtime fans. While we, along with every other fan, are vying for the chance to live out our wildest dreams, we know that tour tickets will likely be untouchable.
On the off chance that we are not the lucky ones, we decided to attend the “I Want Your Midnights: A Taylor Swift Dance Party” at the Baltimore Soundstage on Nov. 5 to shake it off with two of our friends, Yuwen and DJ. The evening was full of dancing in our best dresses, fearless of judgment and unified through our love for Swift’s songs.
Our night started treacherously in a Lyft to Inner Harbor that felt more like a getaway car, except with rave music blaring. We were able to breathe and tolerate it, but once we entered the venue we were ready to have an enchanted evening with throwbacks being played to get the crowd ready for it.
Attendees came dressed in style, bejeweled and shimmering. We polished up nicely in our outfits — Michelle was dressed true to her Reputation era in all black and glitter, while Yuwen and Molly were going for Midnights-esque outfits. However, everyone was dressed gorgeously, including Lover-inspired makeup, mirrorballs and the iconic Red circus ringleader costume.
The DJs bounced back and forth between eras, but energy remained consistent throughout the event. We certainly had whiplash going from dancing along to “Death By a Thousand Cuts” to screaming “Dear John” and waving our cell phone flashlights in the air, but every song just hit different.
As Swift’s career has stretched from our childhoods to the present, each song felt like combing back through memories of heartbreak, love and friendship. Some people seemed to find the breakup songs a little too cathartic, which had us saying, “Babe, you need to calm down.”
No Taylor Swift-themed dance party would have been complete without the 10-minute version of “All Too Well,” which was accompanied by a showing of the music video on the projector as the crowd belted the lyrics and screamed “fuck Jake Gyllenhaal” for several minutes. The “Bejeweled” and “Anti-Hero” music videos were also screened as fans sang along to Swift’s latest hits.
Taylor Swift-inspired drinks were available at the bar for those of legal age. From an aesthetic “Lavender Haze” drink that used butterfly pea gin for a blue-purple glow to a sour apple tequila “‘tis the damn season” cocktail, the selection was perfectly crafted to fit the night’s atmosphere.
All in all, we had a marvelous time being surrounded by other fans. The beauty of the dance party was knowing that everyone at the event also shared in this love. The night’s atmosphere became a safe space for all fans to celebrate the enchantment and magic of Swift’s talents, with no bad blood.
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