From all of us at BackstagePassDirect, we would like to extend the warmest holiday wishes to our over 9000 members who have made 2013 such a great year.
2014 is just around the corner and whether you want to rub elbows with Taylor Swift, Kanye West, One Direction, Bruce Springsteen or Toby Keith, BPD are the folks who can make it happen.
We'll be back blogging after New Years; check in with us then.
Taylor Swift has announced that she will launch a North American stadium and arena tour in early 2013 in support of her blockbuster new album, RED.
Acclaimed singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran, whose duet with Taylor from her RED album, “Everything Has Changed,” has already reached the #1 position atop iTunes all-genre Top Songs chart, will be a special guest on all of the shows on the tour.
Taylor’s live shows are renowned worldwide for bringing her music to life with what Variety has dubbed “supreme spectacle” and Billboard has hailed as an “overwhelming experience…that blended the pacing, the music and the artist's personality in a way that transfixed.” During the course of every show, Taylor plays a variety of instruments and performs her biggest hits and fan favorites.
The TAYLOR SWIFT RED TOUR will include the following:
Last year, when we first announced dates for Taylor Swift's 2010 tour, we weren't prepared for the deluge of backstage pass requests that came in.
A year later, we're prepared to deal with what lies ahead in 2011. It's one thing to sell out arenas in 5 minutes, but it's at an entirely different level when you sell out stadiums in that time, and that's what TS's Speak Now show is doing.
Need to Breathe is opening all US shows.
Although some of the venues have yet to be named, the dates are firm. Here's the whole shebang:
04/23/11 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center
04/24/11 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center
05/27/11 Omaha, NE TBA
05/28/11 Omaha, NE TBA
05/29/11 Des Moines, IA TBA
06/02/11 Fort Lauderdale, FL TBA
06/03/11 Fort Lauderdale, FL TBA
06/04/11 Orlando, FL TBA
06/07/11 Columbus, OH TBA
06/08/11 Milwaukee, WI TBA
06/11/11 Detroit, MI Ford Field
06/14/11 Saint Paul, MN TBA
06/15/11 Saint Paul, MN TBA
06/18/11 Pittsburgh, PA Heinz Field
06/21/11 Buffalo, NY TBA
06/22/11 Hartford, CT TBA
06/25/11 Foxboro, MA Gillette Stadium
06/26/11 Foxboro, MA Gillette Stadium
06/30/11 Greensboro, NC TBA
07/01/11 Knoxville, TN TBA
07/02/11 Louisville, KY TBA
07/08/11 Charlotte, NC TBA
07/09/11 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena
07/10/11 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena
07/19/11 New York, NY TBA
07/20/11 New York, NY TBA
07/28/11 Grand Rapids, MI TBA
07/29/11 Indianapolis, IN TBA
07/30/11 Cleveland, OH TBA
08/02/11 Washington, DC TBA
08/03/11 Washington, DC TBA
08/06/11 Philadelphia, PA Lincoln Financial Field
08/09/11 Chicago, IL TBA
08/10/11 Chicago, IL TBA
08/13/11 Lexington, KY TBA
08/14/11 St. Louis, MO TBA
08/23/11 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center
08/24/11 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center
08/27/11 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center
08/28/11 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center
09/01/11 San Jose, CA HP Pavilion At San Jose
09/02/11 San Jose, CA HP Pavilion At San Jose
09/03/11 Sacramento, CA ARCO Arena
09/06/11 Portland, OR TBA
09/07/11 Seattle, WA TBA
09/16/11 Nashville, TN TBA
09/17/11 Nashville, TN TBA
09/21/11 Tulsa, OK TBA
09/24/11 Kansas City, MO Arrowhead Stadium
09/27/11 Denver, CO TBA
09/28/11 Salt Lake City, UT TBA
10/04/11 Little Rock, AR TBA
10/05/11 New Orleans, LA TBA
10/08/11 Arlington, TX New Dallas Cowboys Stadium
Taylor Swift doesn't mince words. Backstage, I asked her why her songs seem to be so negative toward guys. Swift responded: "I guess if boys don't want me to write bad songs about them they shouldn't do bad things." The reference to Joe Jonas, he reportedly broke up with her over two years ago in a phone call that only lasted seconds, was obvious. Later on, in a continuation of this thread, she told the crowd "I think it's entirely possible that I've fallen in love with you after two songs. And I think that it's that kind of deep, pure love, that lasts forever. I love you like I love burning my ex-boyfriend's pictures. "
Deafening cheers and thunderous applause greeted her as she kicked off her Fearless tour 2010.
Initially dressed as a bandleader, Swift emerged from beneath her bright, colorful set - featuring a T-shaped catwalk at the front - with her dancers dressed as cheerleaders, and her band in school band outfits.
But the clean-cut cutie soon gave way to the sexier vamp in black leather boots.
With the first of many flips of her long, wavy, blond hair, Swift ripped off the bandleader coat to reveal a sparkly silver mini-dress underneath.
Swift, fresh-looking as ever after a costume change into a red sequined mini-dress, then launched into Forever And Always, a song written about Jonas as a last-minute add-on to Fearless.
And when Swift appeared in the audience stands to sing, Hey Stephen, in a new blue dress and brown cowboy boots, the crowd was besides themselves, particularly since she made a point of shaking hands with and hugging as many of them as possible as she made her way towards a smaller, rotating and levitating stage at the back of the floor.
"You looked like you were having fun back here, so I though I'd join you - is that alright?" said Swift, as she sat down with a 12-string acoustic guitar to perform, Fifteen, yet another song about a boy.
So many of Swift's songs deal with love - both falling in and out and of the unrequited variety - that her (almost entirely) young female audience's bond with her is intense, like it can only be for girls who feel things so deeply between the ages of 12 and 16.
Their continued and sustained screams for several minutes caused Taylor to stop, pull out of her earpieces, and take it all in right after she performed Tim McGraw and made her way back up to the larger stage.
"When I was a little kid that I would have this crazy dream I'd be able to sing on stage and have a crowd scream really, really loud, but what you just did was even cooler than that," said Swift. "Thank you so much."
And there were a few girly moments that were even too girly for me, although my younger sister, was close to going nuclear. For a moment, I thought it wasn't a concert so much as a massive love-in for God-fearing teens. The mood was excited the way people get all pumped up for Disneyland.
It was like Christmas, Easter and your high-school prom all rolled up into one, but packing more estrogen than a Lillith Fair concert.
I preferred the stripped-down simplicity of Swift just playing her acoustic guitar on White Horse myself, but something tells me I was just about alone on that.
Swift also scored major points by injecting a bit of Justin Timberlake's What Goes Around Comes Around, into her own You're Not Sorry, as she sat at a piano while white fog floated around her feet.
This was the first time I've ever been backstage at a show. It was UNREAL!
SET LIST
You Belong With Me
Our Song
Tell Me Why
Teardrops On My Guitar
Fearless
Forever and Always
Hey Stephen
Fifteen
Tim McGraw
White Horse
Love Story
The Way I Loved You
You're Not Sorry/What Goes Around Comes Around
Picture to Burn
ENCORE
Today Was a Fairytale
Should've Said No
127623 , UNREAL is what it is! Our members get to have experiences that others can only dream about.
For Taylor Swift’s fans, which at last count number higher than many countries’ census figures, new tour dates represent another chance to experience Swift’s “Fearless”-ness, as well as an opportunity for newly minted followers to see their girl in action for the first time.
The new round of U.S. dates begin with March 4 in Tampa and run through June 2 in Washington, D.C. Although venues are not yet locked down, cities and dates are available, showing Taylor playing just about every U.S. metro area on the map, including Philadelphia, Dallas, Wichita, Lexington, Moline, Newark, Fresno, Houston, Uniondale and Des Moines.
As she has before, “American Idol” finalist Kelly Pickler opens for Swift in 2010.
Here's the 2010 list:
Thu 03/04/10 Tampa, FL St. Pete Times Forum
Fri 03/05/10 Orlando, FL TBA
Sun 03/07/10 Sunrise, FL BankAtlantic Center
Wed 03/10/10 Austin, TX Frank Erwin Center
Thu 03/11/10 Dallas, TX TBA
Fri 03/12/10 Corpus Christi, TX American Bank Center Arena
Thu 03/18/10 Philadelphia, PA TBA
Fri 03/19/10 Philadelphia, PA TBA
Sat 03/20/10 Charlottesville, VA John Paul Jones Arena
Fri 03/26/10 Detroit, MI TBA
Sat 03/27/10 Detroit, MI TBA
Sun 03/28/10 Cincinnati, OH TBA
Wed 03/31/10 Oklahoma City, OK TBA
Thu 04/01/10 Wichita, KS TBA
Fri 04/02/10 Kansas City, MO Sprint Center
Tue 04/06/10 Denver, CO Pepsi Center
Wed 04/07/10 Denver, CO Pepsi Center
Sat 04/10/10 Fresno, CA Save Mart Center
Sun 04/11/10 San Jose, CA HP Pavilion At San Jose
Thu 04/15/10 Los Angeles, CA TBA
Fri 04/16/10 Los Angeles, CA TBA
Thu 04/29/10 Lexington, KY Rupp Arena
Fri 04/30/10 Columbia, SC Colonial Life Arena
Sat 05/01/10 Raleigh, NC RBC Center
Thu 05/06/10 Des Moines, IA Wells Fargo Arena
Fri 05/07/10 Saint Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center
Sat 05/08/10 Moline, IL i wireless Center
Wed 05/12/10 Newark, NJ Prudential Center
Thu 05/13/10 Newark, NJ Prudential Center
Fri 05/14/10 Uniondale, NY Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Sat 05/15/10 Uniondale, NY Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Tue 05/25/10 Houston, TX TBA
Wed 05/26/10 Houston, TX TBA
Wed 06/02/10 Washington, DC TBA
Taylor's been a member fave for quite some time. So we expect request volume for these to be heavy. Remember, the earlier your request, the more likely you'll be backstage at her show.
As we wrote last time, the phones are ringing off the hook with promoters calling in their tour schedules for the coming months. And it's not just the rock promoters that are going nuts; look who's touring on the country circuit:
Alan Jackson
Allman Brothers
Blake Shelton
Billy Ray Cyrus
Brad Paisley
Brooks & Dunn
Dierks Bentley
George Strait
Houston Rodeo
Keith Urban
Kenny Chesney
K.D. Lang
Little Big Town
Merle Haggard
Montgomery Gentry
Neko Case
Oak Ridge Boys
Taylor Swift
Vince Gill
Willie Nelson
and many, many more.
If you never seen a live show from backstage before, if you've never hung out with a so-called "country star", this is your chance. BackstagePassDirect has the passes you want to have. Our members see great concerts from the back of some of the finest venues in the country.
For Taylor Swift’s fans, which at last count number higher than many countries’ census figures, new tour dates represent another chance to experience Swift’s “Fearless”-ness, as well as an opportunity for newly minted followers to see their girl in action for the first time.
As we wrote last time, the phones are ringing off the hook with promoters calling in their tour schedules for the coming months. And it's not just the rock promoters that are going nuts; look who's touring on the country circuit: