for these montrealers, missing taylor swift was not an option
"core memory beats down payments," one swiftie says.
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it’s been a long time coming for montreal swifties making their way down the 401 this week and next to see the eras tour in toronto. and especially so for montrealer ashton thorne, who was in vienna, austria to see taylor swift in august when it was announced at the last minute that all shows in that city were being cancelled over threats of a terrorist attack.
“i was completely gutted,” thorne said. “at first, i sat in shock for about five minutes. i was in silence, in disbelief thinking this can’t be real, like this is a joke. and then once it started to settle in, i was absolutely devastated. i cried.”
thorne suddenly found herself among millions of canadian fans with no tickets to the eras tour — but she refused to rest until she got them.
“i’ve been entering every single contest,” she said. “it’s basically been my entire life.”
in the home stretch, thorne was able to buy tickets from a co-worker’s sister, and so she’ll be among 50,000 swifties attending the final toronto show on nov. 23.
“i’m literally in disbelief that this is happening,” she said. “i cried and ran around my entire office.”
swift kicks off her six-show run at the rogers centre on thursday, 15 long months after tickets first went on sale. it’s the second-to-last stop before the 150-show tour wraps up for good in vancouver at the beginning of december after a nearly two-year run.
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securing tickets has been no small feat for montrealers, whose city was snubbed over its lack of an adequate stadium. for those who managed to get seats in toronto, the wait is finally over.
“i’ve had these tickets for over a year, so i just feel like the closer it gets, the only thing i can compare it to is the way you feel when you’re approaching your wedding day,” said erica rizzo, who is heading to toronto with her family for friday’s show. “you’re doing all this prep and you’re so excited and you’ve literally anticipated this one day for a year to two years. … the fact that it’s in now two days is literally insane to me. i cannot believe in less than 72 hours, i’ll be at the eras tour.”
rizzo described herself as a more recent fan, though she noted the first album she ever purchased with her own money was swift’s 2006 self-titled debut. rizzo knew she wanted to see the eras tour when she realized what a cultural phenomenon it had become, likening it to woodstock.
“if somebody offered you tickets to woodstock, even if you’re not into that kind of music, and you could … kind of have that foresight as to what a cultural phenomenon that would be like, you would go,” she said. “i would say within the past two years since the eras tour has been really prevalent in culture, i’ve become more of a fan.”
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marisa kelley, meanwhile, now in her thirties, has been a fan since high school. she saw the eras tour in boston in may 2023 during the first north american leg and was treated to a quintessential swift rain show, but is excited to experience it again in toronto next weekend — this time while dry and warm.
“it was still an amazing show, but we were drenched and in ponchos,” she said. “we couldn’t wear taylor swift outfits or anything because it was pouring rain for the whole 3.5 hours.”
like rizzo, kelley was one of the lucky ones who managed to get a code to buy tickets during the initial sale. but as it happened, she and her friends were on a flight to texas for a bachelorette weekend at the time.
“we had to put it in the hands of my brother-in-law to log in and get the tickets for us,” she said. “we like to joke his marriage was on the line.”
the group plans to hit up a series of swift-related events over their weekend in toronto, including a drag brunch at the drake hotel.
“we’re packing our weekend with taylor swift,” kelley said.
among montrealers who weren’t so lucky as to get a code for the initial ticket drop in toronto is kailey diogo, who was wait-listed for the london, u.k., toronto and vancouver shows. but she’ll be taking a bus down the 401 regardless, determined to score last-minute tickets.
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diogo said she’s been tracking ticket drops after the stage is built in each city.
“i have my husband on standby at the ready to refresh ticketmaster, and some friends too,” she said. “our bus ride will be full of refreshing the site. we’ve signed up for every contest under the sun, we’re just really hopeful.”
alison henstridge wasn’t able to snag tickets during the initial drop either, but managed to buy some off a friend of a friend back in january. she surprised her daughter, adelaide, with tickets on her eighth birthday using a vip box she found on facebook marketplace that contained merch, posters, stickers, and a “golden” ticket.
“she was opening the box and she kind of got to the ticket and she put it aside and i was like, no, wait, go back to that ticket,” henstridge said. “and then she kind of realized: we’re going to see taylor swift.”
henstridge hopes the experience will become a core memory for adelaide.
“as much as everyone is telling me to sell my ticket — i could probably put a down payment on a house if i listed my tickets on stubhub right now — i’m like, core memory beats down payments,” she said.
“money comes back, you know? this will never be an opportunity ever again.”
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