“You seem like a Swiftie. I’ll play some Taylor Swift,” says my Kansas City Uber driver as I rush into his SUV. I peer down at my nondescript outfit.
“How could you tell?” I ask, bewildered by the accurate read. “I just had a feeling,” he replied with a laugh. I brace myself for the eye roll: Although I’m excited to be visiting the city that served as the backdrop of her romance with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, I’m wary of the “dads, Brads and Chads” (as Swift refers to them) who complain about the pop star’s presence in their precious world of football.
Instead, I’m met with a refreshing positivity upon arrival in Missouri’s largest city: “I just love Taylor and Travis,” says my driver before turning the volume to 13 (Swift’s lucky number). For Swifties, the concept of Taylor Swift tourism isn’t new: Not only have fans been flocking to the cities on her Eras Tour, we’ve made the pilgrimage to the former New York City apartment she laments in “Cornelia Street,” jaunted around London to the neighbourhoods she sings about on “London Boy,” and admired the flashing lights of the Eiffel Tower at midnight, just as she does in her song “Paris.” It’s silly and all in good fun, but Taylor-inspired travel is also a way to gain a deeper understanding of the songs that have become the soundtrack to our lives.
Kansas City is the latest setting to her love songs, but unlike New York, London or Paris, it’s a somewhat befud.
