SALT LAKE CITY -- You may have seen or heard a big crowd outside the Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City Saturday night. Thousands of screaming young fans and their parents made their way there for the Taylor Swift concert, and it was a sold out performance.
“I think she’s one of the best singers ever,” said Corinne Simao, who attended the show with her mother.
Tickets for Swift’s Red Tour went on sale in December and sold out the approximately 14,000 seats available within minutes. The average price for a ticket was $82.25, but many fans said they paid hundreds of dollars for a seat at the show from online ticket brokers.
“I am so excited. It’s literally a dream come true. I have been waiting to see Taylor Swift since I was about 16, so I’m way excited,” fan Rachel Long said.
Salt Lake City is just one of 66 shows Swift is playing in 47 cities. The performance included opening act Ed Sheeran, a singer-songwriter from the UK.
As Swift took the stage Saturday evening, she beamed at the sea of cheering fans.
“You guys sold it out in the presale, which is the nicest possible thing an audience can do for someone,” she said.
Several hours before Swift was scheduled to take the stage, thousands crowded into the arena’s plaza to line up for the show.
“We love Taylor. We’re a Taylor family,” said Jake Reed, who drove in with his wife and two daughters from Elko, Nevada.
Famous for writing clever, catchy tunes about her ex-boyfriends, Swift acknowledged to a crowd of screaming fans that her songs cover a wide range of emotions. And just before she launched into her hit song “Red,” she smiled and thanked everyone for coming to listen to her sing about “her feelings.” As soon as the music began, they all sang along with her.
