Swifties trade bracelets, get matching tattoos ahead of Santa Clara shows

ByLauren Martinez KGO logo

Friday, July 28, 2023

Swifties trade bracelets, get matching tattoos ahead of Bay Area shows

Here's how fans and businesses are preparing for Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour shows in Santa Clara this weekend.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (KGO) -- The excitement for Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour is only building in the South Bay. Fans lined up all day to buy merchandise from a truck parked outside Levi's Stadium Thursday - by midnight Santa Clara will officially be called 'Swiftie Clara.'

Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour at Levi's Stadium: Everything you need to know before you go

Earlier in the afternoon, staff at the San Jose airport started the fun by setting up a Swiftie Station to greet passengers in town for the show.

A big part of the tour is trading friendship bracelets, so content marketer Kayla Renelle said they made more than 150 bracelets to swap with arriving Swifties.

"Wouldn't it be cool if kind of celebrate this part of people's journey because they're making these big trips to see Taylor - let's give them a little memento to commemorate their time visiting coming to SJC - coming to the Bay Area," Renelle said.

Passengers young and old were happy to see the station.

"It's cool to be able to put what I'm passionate about outside of work to something that is relevant to work and excites and engages passengers," Renelle said.

One fan said she flew from Nashville on the same flight as Taylor Swift's dad. Daisy Fordyce said he gave her guitar picks.

"I was like shaking when I saw him. He was like talking to everyone on the flight, though like he was just super genuine and friendly," Fordyce said.

When it comes to friendships, Summer Pascual and Payton Decarlo are taking theirs to the next level.

The Eras Tour setlist: What will Taylor Swift play for her 2-night concert at Levi's Stadium?

"We are getting matching tattoos that are related to the Taylor Swift song cruel summer," Pascual said.

The pair will be getting Swiftie inspired ink at Soul Imagez Tattoo in San Jose on Friday. These are some of the designs people can choose from.

The friends have known each other since the fourth grade. They hope the ink will commemorate this time of their lives and the shared experience of attending The Eras Tour.

"With womanhood, like it's just right now I feel like everyone's coming together and it feels nice and comfortable and everyone supports each other," Decarlo said.

Pascual said this is not just a concert but an experience.

VIDEO: Thousands of Swifties wait for hours for merchandise ahead of Levi's Stadium shows

With the first fans camping out near the stadium since midnight, Swifties waited up to 10 hours for the official Taylor Swift merchandise truck to open Thursday. But they say it was all worth it.

"I think what such a cool thing about The Eras Tour - people are so nice to you who are strangers - the whole bracelet thing I think is super cool and you don't get that at every type of concert experience," Pascual said.

Caroline Levens, the owner of Bake It Count in Santa Clara, first sold out of her Swift-inspired treats within 12 hours.

"If I had known the demand, I would have certainly tried to make more," Levens said.

By Saturday, the small business owner will have baked and delivered more than 400 cookies.

One customer even made Levens a friendship bracelet.

"As they pulled away, it says Bake It Count - my business name - it was the sweetest thing ever, I could not believe it," Levens said.

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