'The Very First Night': Fans out in full force for Taylor Swift's Friday show in Minneapolis
For many Swifties with tickets to Friday’s show at U.S. Bank Stadium, the day of all-things-Taylor started early.
Alex Holker, 30, and Elizabeth Edwards, 18, arrived two and a half hours before the Swift merchandise stand opened outside the stadium.
“I’ve gone to almost all of her tours, and this has not been a thing — waiting, camping out for merch, but I love it,” Holkner said. “But I also really just want to not have to wait for it in the concert later. So we’re here this morning, fighting the battles.”
Many fans were out to nab the hot item: a blue crewneck sweatshirt that’s been selling out fast. But for some, standing in line for hours in 90 degree temperatures was most worth it for the camaraderie and connections.
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.
Holker said she and Edwards met in line, and 10 minutes after meeting, were already friends.
“It’s just such a tight-knit community that we all just like trust each other and that we’re all on this road together — you know, surviving getting tickets, stuff like that,” she said.
More than 60,000 fans like Holker and Edwards went to Friday’s sold-out show. Just as many are expected downtown for Saturday night’s performance.
To accommodate fans leaving the Vikings stadium after the three-hour show, Metro Transit extended operations of the light rail past midnight for the two nights.
Drew Kerr of Metro Transit said Friday “really couldn’t have gone any better.”
“We had a huge number of people coming out of that stadium, a lot of them all at the same time, and looking at transit and saying, ‘Are you ready?’ and we were ready,” he said. “We had trains there waiting, and we filled them up as quickly as we could.”
Kerr said most fans were on their way within an hour of the concert’s end. He said Saturday’s tired Swifties can expect a repeat of that performance.