Aberdeen Taylor Swift fans flocked to The Lemon Tree for a whole night of tunes at the Swiftogeddon club night on Saturday.
Swiftogeddon nights have been sweeping the UK since 2019 and were the first events of its kind dedicated solely to Taylor Swift.
This year Swifties arrived in droves with friendship bracelets on their wrists, ready for swapping – a practice fans have been doing throughout the artist’s The Eras Tour – and some arrived in themed outfits based on specific songs or even lyrics.
I met one of these dedicated fans, Desha Ervin, 34, in the queue before the night began. She has been a fan since Taylor Swift’s second album and has been attending concerts since the Speak Now tour in 2011.
“I’ve been to four Swiftogeddon nights now. I’ve been to one in Dublin, one in Edinburgh, one in Aberdeen and then this will be my next one in Aberdeen.”
Swiftie community is one of a kind
“The best thing about these nights is getting to know other Swifties,
“You can just walk up to anyone and become instant friends because you have that connection and we promote kindness and getting to know people.”
“I always look for some way I can get my Taylor Swift release.”
“So whenever there’s a Swiftogeddon here in Aberdeen or sometimes Edinburgh, I travel and go there.”
“Every time I go, I meet lovely, amazing people. And so even if you come alone, you’re going to find friends. You’re going to find people you can connect to and and enjoy the night with.”
Newer fans are welcome too.
Students Baayaf Ajgaonkar and Emma Wright have been fans since Reputation and Lover were released in 2017 and 2019.
“I’m looking forward to the atmosphere tonight. Everyone is a Swiftie here so I’ll hopefully get to meet a few people.” Emma tells me.
Baayaf says: “It’s a really nice community in my opinion.
“People make fun of it but I think it’s just something that makes people happy so I don’t understand why people need to hate on it.
“Living in a city where you don’t know many people and you are surrounded by these people who share the same interest as you, it can make you feel less lonely.”
Swiftogeddon is the place to be for Aberdeen Taylor Swift fans
The night itself was a blast.
The DJ – who is clearly a Swiftie herself – played a mix of Taylor Swift Classics like Love Story, Style and The Man and more obscure fan favourites you would never hear on an average night out such as August, Long Live and Death by a Thousand Cuts.
And exactly as the fans had been saying, throughout the night Swifties had created an environment where I felt completely safe and happy to be there on my own.
I quickly found people to dance and sing along with and spent the whole night with them.
Even non-Swiftie friends and partners who had tagged along seemed to be enjoying themselves at The Lemon Tree.
The Swiftie community has a knack of banding together to have a good time and create a judgement-free space where we can all connect over Taylor Swift and her music.
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