During past tours, Taylor Swift has spent the most time in Texas. With concerts sold out in 4-5 Texas cities for each tour, you could say her Texan fans there are very loyal. But is she loyal to them? With the release of the 1989 world tour dates, Texas “swifties” were dismayed to find only one date for one venue in one Texas city. I was extremely disappointed to find she wouldn’t be stopping in Austin this year since I am a huge fan of her new album. Texas girls and guys have been her fans from the start, it just seems wrong to cut us out of her tour.
Austin, San Antonio and Houston have been replaced by places like Seattle, Tokyo and Toronto. Could this be a result of her genre shift from country to pop? I believe it is. Once she was singing about Georgia stars, in her new album she’s welcoming her listeners to New York. I didn’t realize the her transition from country also meant her absence from southern states.
Taylor’s country sound was accompanied by cowboy boots and an acoustic guitar. Her dresses were always modest and her long curly hair was her trademark. She was known for her relatable and meaningful lyrics. I will admit that her songs pulled me through a break up or two. Her lyrics were rooted in typical country topics like pick up trucks, her love for her mom, Tim McGraw and her guitar. Taylor played many of her first shows at Texas rodeos, her music videos were on CMT, and she always could be seen performing at the CMAs.
With her new pop genre her hair and skirts got shorter. Her music videos got edgier, and she began performing at events like the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show which doesn’t traditionally involve any country music. Taylor has traded cowboy boots for her high heels and electronic instruments have taken place of the acoustic guitar. Her lyrics are centered around big cities, bad boys and repetitive catchy phrasing. This change has revolutionized Taylor’s career and taken her music around the world. I love her new sound and look just as I loved the old Taylor. Her old songs went well with a pint of blue bell ice cream and tissues, but her new songs make every dance floor across the world come alive.
I am sad to say this shift away from country has also created a limited amount of tour time in Texas. All us swifties need to come together and reach out to Taylor through social media and let her know Texans love her sound even if its not country. #TexaswantsTaylor
For other articles about Taylor’s transition click here.
Thanks for linking to a previous student’s blog post! Call me crazy, but I think I like “pop” Taylor Swift better than “country” Taylor Swift. I spent the weekend listening to 1989 on loop in my car because I was moving and my son likes dancing in his carseat to “Shake It Off.” I think pop is where Taylor was heading all along, and I’m glad to see her going for what she wants instead of trying to drag country with her.
I don’t know if you are aware of this but Taylor Swift recently added Houston to her tour. She will be playing at Minute Maid Park on October 13th (which unfortunately falls on a Tuesday). I don’t know the reasoning behind why she decided to add this date to her tour, but it might be because a lot of her fans are reacting to the lack of Texas tour dates the same way that you are. I actually originally thought that she had added more than just the Houston date to her tour, but as it turns out I was wrong. Even though I wasn’t planning on attending her tour this year, I agree that she shouldn’t leave her Texas fans out of the loop when it comes to planning her tour dates.