Even the title of this post still seems surreal. Yesterday I was invited up to Manchester by Keds to not only watch Taylor Swift on her worldwide tour, but to actually meet her too. I know.
Home Sweet Home
I arrived in Manchester just in time for lunch so headed to what is apparently known as the Northern Quarter to an amazing road called Edge Street, which is a really wide and quiet road with the cutest cafes. I ate in a place called Home Sweet Home with the oh so lovely Liv Purvis and Carrie Harwood (who are not only lovely but just have the most inspirational blogs and instagram accounts)! after lots of you recommended it to Liv, so thank you for that. Before I even mention the food I just have to mention the amazing interior as everything from the Smeg fridge, to the signs, pictures, and books were just perfection!
Meeting Taylor Swift
We arrived and were greeted by the Keds team and taken backstage with about twenty other lucky people of all ages. I love country music and have been a huge fan of Taylor’s for years, but right now Taylor is not only the queen of pop but an inspiring entrepreneur and influencer so needless to say I was very excited. We were ushered into a small room with an area curtained off and one by one the groups went in and came out several minutes later either in tears (happy ones of course), or jumping up and down in joy. Finally our turn came and we stepped behind the curtain to a smiling Taylor who instantly greeted us with a hug. We chatted about everything and nothing - about the outfits some of her fans had arrived in, about her love of cats, about the show, and then we took a photo. I can confirm that she was just as gorgeous in the flesh - super tall, toned, and radiant. Sadly I wasn’t charming enough to become a new member of her incredible girl squad, but it was such a privilege to meet the pop star who is showing us that girls don’t have to take crap from guys and be bitchy to each other. Girl power indeed.
Next we had some food and drinks in our suite whilst watching the incredibly talented (and hot) Vance Joy perform, before going to take our seats in anticipation of the show. Our seats were right at the front and we were all give rubber wrist bands to wear and admired the incredible outfits whilst we waited. There were so many people in outfits and signs made from lights and apparently it’s because Taylor’s team picks one group every night that dress up and look like they’re having the best time and they have a little party in her dressing room with her afterwards. Anyone know if this is true?
Taylor Live
Anyway, the moment that we have all been waiting for arrived… it was time for Taylor. The stage came alive, the dancers appeared, the music started, and Taylor came out just as all our wrist bands lit up the arena. It looked magical and the atmosphere was so electric it gave me goosebumps!
I’ve been to a lot of concerts, gigs, and festivals in my life and I can honestly say this show is one of the best I have ever seen. Like ever. The set was like a big musical production, the dancers were flawless, and the songs and performances were incredible. I am a huge fan of the 1989 album anyway but some of the songs had been rearranged to make the experience so unique - for example Trouble was performed like a rock song with Taylor playing the electric guitar. So cool! She mainly played songs from her 1989 album but also played a few of her previous hits but with the contemporary sound of her current album. Taylor is not only such a talented singer (pianist, keyboardist, AND guitarist - all of which she played throughout the show) but she also injected so much personality into the show - you can tell that despite her global domination she’s still a slightly dorky and adorable girls girl (with the body of a Victoria Secret’s model, seriously!). In between performances Taylor told us stories about what had inspired her to write the songs - from her inner hopeless romantic, to films she had watched that had influenced her, to the breakups and lessons she’d learnt. She also spoke a lot about her experiences and offered us advice on the pressures of life and love. She reminded us that what we see on other’s social media pages are just the highlights of their life, not their whole life. She told us not to let the opinions of others define who we are and to remember our mistakes just make us wiser. It was so inspiring. I left the concert not only feeling blown away by her musical talent, but driven to be more successful and positive.
I got back to the hotel we were staying in to have the best night’s sleep and woke up today still buzzing from the last night’s events. I’m on the train back to London now in my super comfortable Keds, which I need after a surreal and incredible night of Shaking it Off!
Speak to you soon,
