Taylor Swift tribute event in Chennai brings together fans from ages 7 to 50

CHENNAI: It was a night unlike any other in Chennai when Swifties descended upon Medai in Alwarpet on Friday to scream the name of their idol as they grooved and sang along to her songs, their faces aglow against the neon lights and mobile flashlights. The musical affair, titled "Swiftie Rampage - A Sing-Along Tribute to The Tortured Poet", had both young Gen-Z adults and older millennials bonding over their love for the wildly popular singer-songwriter Taylor Swift.

Joellyn, a Swiftie and a homemaker in her 40s, was seen enthusiastically singing the lyrics of every song played by heart. She exclaimed that the poetic ‘the lakes’ song from Taylor’s ‘Folklore’ album was her absolute favourite, adding that she had a tattoo of the word ‘Fearless’, the name of Taylor’s first re-recorded album.

In another corner, an IT professional, Revathi, looked as excited as her seven-year-old to be amidst the gathering. She admitted that her daughters influenced her to listen to Taylor Swift. “Swift is more popular among the youngsters. Even I started listening to Swift’s songs because of my daughters, they sing her songs every day. I think the boom in popularity this year is because of the singer’s ongoing Eras Tour.”

The event also saw independent artist Dhaya performing a few of the popstar’s hit tracks like ‘Don’t Blame Me’ and ‘Shake It Off’ and a screening of performances from Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour. That was not all. The singer’s lucky number ‘13’ was scribbled on the backs of the hands of all the Swifties. Also, they were gifted friendship bracelets and handmade rings made by Pavithra Parthasarathy, ‘Hearttoart’ founder. Each Swiftie was encouraged to write a phrase (“We love you, Taylor”) on the rings and give them to others in the room, helping foster a sense of fandom.

Dhaya who organised the sing-along event explained that she wanted to encourage indie artists like herself to create such shows. “I wanted to show that it is possible to do it yourself. Usually, people expect a band… but you have independent artists literally waiting with their files for somebody to just hire them, so, that is why I am trying to draw people’s attention to independent artists.”

From the high schoolers to the working adults present, everyone agreed that it felt special to be able to listen to Taylor’s songs as a large group. Aathira, an assistant manager at VIBRO, concurred. “It’s a Swiftie thing… whoever it is, we share our energies and bond."