It was the gig of an era.
Jordyn Burdette, 33, was convinced she wouldn’t be able to attend one of Taylor Swift’s mega-hit concerts after weeks of searching for affordable tickets.
But when a friend texted her that the Eras Tour had volunteer usher positions available, Burdette realized that she had discovered a backdoor to the experience of a lifetime.
The Tennessee mom immediately found a babysitter for her two children and drove two hours from her home in Chattanooga to Nissan Stadium in Nashville.
In a “Lavender Haze,” she helped fellow Swifties to their seats in the packed venue and awaited Swift’s arrival. As soon as the superstar hit her first note, Burdette started sobbing.
“It felt surreal being there because I was convinced till only a few days ago that I wasn’t going to be able to go,” Burdette told the Washington Post. “Seeing her walk out onstage hit me hard.”
Since the 106-date Eras Tour started back in March, Swift has been breaking records left and right as the tour’s revenue predictions soar north of $1 billion. But the most recent record Swift has broken has to be creating the most desirable job in the service industry.
According to David Waddell, chief executive of the app Tend — which hires 50 to 500 staffers per concert on the “Eras” tour— the demand to work at Swift’s venues has been overwhelming.
Tend had 65 available jobs for each of the three nights that Swift performed in Atlanta. On average, 1,037 people applied per show.
“Taylor Swift is on a totally different level,” Waddell said. “We’re getting probably double or triple the amount of applicants for her.”
Swift’s Kansas City dates cost roughly $1,400 per ticket, so two sister superfans found a different way to get involved.
They took gigs handing out the LED wristbands that sync up to Swift’s music and glow differently depending on the song.
“There are thousands of screaming fans running at you wanting the [wristband], that’s their holy grail,” Chelsea Pike, 40, said of the experience. “People were crying, saying we made their life, this is their dream come true. I know not every concert or every event is going to be like that.”
Many fans have posted and boasted on social media about their experiences working the show.
“POV: You work the parking lot for 6 hrs to get free Taylor Swift tickets,” one Swiftie captioned a TikTok.
Another, Davis Perrigo, 25, worked security in Nashville when he couldn’t get tickets and later went viral singing his heart out to “I Knew You Were Trouble.”
While some may worry that overeager fans might not be the ideal concert employees, Waddell said it hasn’t been an issue.
“I would say less than one percent have been people being like, ‘Hey, I’m leaving my shift to sneak into the concert,” he said.