Lavender haze lingers over Indy after Taylor Swift’s final U.S. Eras Tour concerts

The "end game" for Taylor Swift’s sold-out U.S. Eras Tour took place this weekend in downtown Indianapolis.

More than 50 Swift-themed events were held throughout the city. Overall, Visit Indy estimates the city will see an economic boost in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The three-day experience has attracted people from across the country, leading to the largest concert attendance Lucas Oil Stadium has seen in its nearly 20-year history.

Jennifer Strohl, a West Lafayette resident, said her childhood friend Andrea Edwards drove about 10 hours from New York on Friday.

“We're so overwhelmed by the red carpet that Indianapolis has laid out for her,” Strohl said. “There's so much love and happiness and fun happening here on the streets that we wanted to be a part of it.”

Bedford residents Kylie Sanders and her daughter Gretchen Warren visited the city’s Children's Museum and zoo, and traded bracelets with other fans.

“I think it's comparable to Disney, like the feeling anyway, because you've got such a large group of people all here for the same thing,” Sanders said.

Nearly 90 percent of tickets were purchased from individuals outside of Indianapolis, according to Visit Indy. Sanders and Warren managed to score concert tickets a year ago when they first became available at standardized prices. But many fans weren’t as lucky.

Some tickets were still available online the night of the shows through resellers, but cost between $2,200 to $11,600.

On Saturday, more than 100 people were scattered outside Lucas Oil Stadium and many held signs saying they wanted to purchase cheaper tickets to the show.

Sisters Carly Katz and Melissa Katz drove from Chicago despite not having tickets. They hoped to buy a spare ticket from a fellow Swiftie if their friend couldn't make it.

Melissa said she was determined to find a ticket because she’s a longtime fan who listens to Swift’s music daily. She said the global pop star’s newest album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” was her therapy after a relationship ended.

“That whole album's basically about throwing yourself into the wrong relationship, getting hurt and coming out of it,” Melissa said. “And just standing up on your own and finding yourself. So it just kind of came out at the perfect time for me, like literally two weeks after I got ghosted.”

For others, attending the concert is a chance to share their experience with a new generation.

Alicia Lowry, the mother of two 8-year-old twins, has been a fan for at least a decade and saw Swift years ago when she opened for country singer Keith Urban. Lowry said she entered multiple online contests but failed to get tickets. But she and her kids still drove to Indianapolis from Cincinnati because she believes Swift is a good role model. 

“I want them to look up to somebody like this,” Lowry said. “So I think it's a good thing to see.”

Contact WFYI’s health reporter Elizabeth Gabriel at egabriel@wfyi.org