A month had passed since Evie’s agent called her with the big news. Her agent had been in contact with Taylor’s team and cleared all matters for her, so there was no chance to meet Taylor personally. Ever since the day of the news, Evie had not stopped thinking about the upcoming tour and her role in it. It was April and the first concert was set to be on August 1st. There was still quite some time left but Evie could not do anything but plan her own set. Evie had always been an indecisive person, how was she supposed to pick 10 songs? She had just published her first album with exactly 10 songs on it but there were so many unrecorded songs left in her notebook that would deserve to be played live.
While Evie was working on her little setlist, the tour rehearsals were already in full swing. No wonder, performing a lifetime worth of music in front of a live audience takes a lot of effort and preparation. Evie could only imagine how exhausting the rehearsals must be and couldn’t wait to see the full show herself. But she mostly couldn’t wait to perform herself and wanted to prepare as much as she could to feel confident and safe on the huge stage that appeared right for Taylor but way too big for her as an artist. She was right in the middle of her morning vocal warm-up, when she received a call from a number she did not recognize. She usually doesn’t accept phone calls from strangers but her fingers somehow accepted the call as if they knew who was waiting of the other end of the line. “Hello, this is Evie?”, she said with a questioning voice. “Hi, it’s Taylor! Nice to finally talk to you.”. Evie did not except to hear from Taylor that day. She actually didn’t even expect to talk to her in person before the first show of the tour. She had no experience with big artists and imagined Taylor to be too busy to “take care of” her support-acts which was actually fine for Evie as she was already honored to be picked out for the tour. “That’s actually quite a surprise haha…”, Evie shyly told Taylor before she told her how excited she was to support her on tour. “It’s gonna be a blast! We’re already rehearsing all day, why don’t you come visit us today? You’re from New York City right?”, Taylor asked her with an excited tone in her voice. Taylor and her team were rehearsing in a studio on broadway, only a 15 minute walk away from Evies apartment and besides her nervousness, she really wanted to experience the rehearsals in person and of course, meet Taylor. They agreed to meet at 2pm at the studio.
A few hours later, Evie was standing on Broadway in front of a skyscraper which held space for numerous rehearsal studios used by Theater productions and other celebrities. There was a huge, modern lobby with a rather small reception desk placed in the right corner. Evie was supposed to register herself there in order to be brought to the studio in which “The Eras Tour” rehearsals took place in. A very tall young man called Steve welcomed her and took her to the elevator which brought them to the 13th floor. The studio was on the other end of the hallway and the walk towards the floor felt like ages as Evie grew more and more nervous. She did not know what was waiting for her behind these big studio doors and she suddenly asked herself what she was supposed to do at these rehearsals. She wasn’t supposed to play a role in the actual show, why should she join the rehearsals then?
But there was no going back as she found herself in front of the door with this tall guy by her side who told someone on his walkie talkie that they were in front of the studios now. It took only a couple of seconds until the door was opened by another tall guy who seemed even taller and way broader but had a warm expression on his face which calmed Evie a little. “Hi, please come in. They’re in the middle of a song so please be quiet and stand to the side”, he told Evie with a quiet and low voice. Evie stepped in, gave the guy who brought her to the studio a quick smile and closed the door behind her, careful to be as quiet as possible to not disrupt the performance. And then she actually realized where she was. She was in this huge studio surrounded by the most talented artist and filled with the sounds of Taylor Swift’s song “Karma”. The dancers were all wearing sportswear, sweatpants, a sports bra or a t-shirt and sneakers. There were a lot of dancers and the moved effortlessly trough the room. That’s why it took a moment for Evie for see Taylor, dressed in black leggings, a black sports bra and silver glitter high-heeled boots. She faced the other end of the room and was not yet aware of Evies presence but Evie could already feel her impressive stage present, even though they were just in a dark rehearsal studio on a Thursday afternoon. They were halfway through the song and everything already looked impressive and stage-ready for Evie, who obviously had no idea of planning a show of this extent. Taylor was really occupied by her performance which demanded dancing, singing and entertaining and the same time but she still managed to wink at Evie and greet her with a warm smile when she saw her standing in the far corner of the room.
After the song was over, which also happened to be the last song of the tour in general, they all agreed to take a short break before they wanted to discuss the mistakes and adjustments. Everyone moved in different directions; The dancers talked to each other, stretched and got themselves something to drink. Evie did not really know how to act as she didn’t know if she was supposed to approach Taylor now. She probably also needed her well-deserved break and had to reflect the previously rehearsed songs. But Evie had no chance to think about that much longer because Taylor went up to her. “There you are! Nice to meet you Evie.” Taylor said with a kind and welcoming expression on her face before she went in for a short hug. “I’m sorry, I am a little sweaty. Maybe a wave would have been better than a hug…”, she added before Evie could even say hello herself. “No it’s okay. The performance was impressive, I would sweat a lot more if I had to perform it myself.”, Evie replied with a little nervous sound in her voice. But Evie had no reason to be nervous because Taylor appeared to be very open and actually interested in getting to know her. They both sat down on the studio floor and started chatting about the upcoming tour. Taylor gave her a quick overview on her plans for the shows and told her how excited she was to be on the stage again after so many years without touring. “So what are your plans. I know you still have some time left but have you already thought about your setlist?”, Taylor asked her. Little did she now this was all the could think about. “Well…I definitely thought about it – a lot to be honest.”, Evie admitted. “I have list on my phone but I am sure there will be some more changes. I also can’t decide on the order..”. The words tumbled out of her mouth and it was definitely the nervousness which caused that. “Can I see it? I could help you if you want.”, Taylor suggested suddenly which surprised Evie a little but she was also happy to accept the offer as she needed some advice apart from the people she usually asked for help which were other newcomer artists with few experience. Evie was just about to grab her phone from the jacket pocked when a woman who turned out to be Taylors choreographer called everyone for the next part of the rehearsal. “Well I got to work again but you’re free to watch if you’re interested in that. And I suggest we talk later and discuss your performance.”. Taylor looked at Evie with expectant eyes and Evie knew that she wanted to stay. This was showbusiness, everything she always dreamed of and she would definitely not leave now. “I would love to watch and thank you for taking your time.”. Taylor gave her a quick smile and returned to the center of the room where everyone gathered in a circle to discuss the previous rehearsal.
This is really happening, Evie thought to herself.
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