I Can’t Believe What Happened at the Taylor Swift Tribute Concert Last Night- Feeling 22: An Unforgettable Taylor Swift Tribute Concert in Toronto

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The highly acclaimed Feeling 22: A Live Tribute to Taylor Swift returned for another stellar performance on Saturday, January 20th, 2024, at The Rec Room at Roundhouse Park. This live tribute concert featured some of Canada’s best indie country/pop artists performing over 35 much-beloved hits for over three hours. 

2 Showings in 1 Concert:

This year’s concert had two showings: an all-ages, family-friendly afternoon matinee and a 19+ evening show. Those who purchased the VIP tickets experienced a private pre-show, a meet-and-greet with the performers, early access to the show, and were gifted with bags full of Taylor Swift-themed swag. Fashion Ecstasy attended the 19+ evening show, and it was a night that this writer will fondly remember all too well.

Highlights From the Feeling 22 19+ Evening Show

Below are highlights from the Feeling 22 19+ evening show:

First Time Visiting The Rec Room at Roundhouse Park

The night of Saturday, January 20th, was an extremely cold one. Even though I arrived early, I risked missing the start of the show due to the (understandably) long lineup at coat check. While the venue was bustling with activity prior to the show, there needed to be more directional guidance for those attending the concert portion of the event. We had to inquire with security amidst the lively energy of the surrounding arcade area to find our way to the performance space. However, upon arrival, it was easy to see why the location was situated further back for an optimally focused musical experience. I appreciated the venue‘s attempts to offer multiple entertainment options under one roof. In the future, clearer signage or maps will ease navigation for first-timers while also allowing patrons to enjoy all aspects of this unique multi-purpose space fully. Overall, any initial uncertainties were quickly resolved once inside the concert hall itself.

While checking out the space, I noticed that both the upper and lower levels were starting to get more crowded by the minute. The stage was set up with a full-sized stage and projector screen displaying the Feeling 22 logo and the names and social media handles of all of the performers. The room was big enough for everyone to get an excellent view of the show, regardless of whether they were standing on the lower level or sitting on the upper level. 

The Fashion Moments

Prior to the event, I pondered long and hard about what to wear to a Taylor Swift-themed concert. Along with being one of the biggest and brightest musical talents to date, Taylor Swift is also a fashion inspiration to many. Throughout her career, Taylor’s performance attire has seen many aesthetic evolutions or ‘eras’ that accompany the release of each new album cycle. Past eras include the heart-shaped sunglasses and the popular ‘Not a Lot Going on at The Moment‘ T-shirt from her Red era and knit cardigans from her Folklore era. The outfit inspirations were as countless and extensive as her discography.

At the tribute concert, many of the attendees showed up wearing a little bit of everything from all of the eras. There were tons of sparkly boots and sequin mini dresses, both of which were nods to Swift’s Fearless era. One Swiftie even paid tribute to Swift’s Lover era by rocking a glitzy suit blazer. I loved seeing all of these unique and creative interpretations as they heightened the overall positive experience of the concert and made for great icebreakers. One of my favourite moments from the night was counting all of the eyes that lit up when they saw my plus-one wearing her Reputation concert T-shirt. She made a lot of new friends that night. Even the performers joined in on the fashion fun, and they all looked nailed in their respective eras!

Encore and Final Thoughts

The Musical Acts

Did you know that Taylor Swift has 243 songs to her name? That’s a lot of tunes to pull out of the vault. With any tribute concert, compiling the perfect set list is an absolute must! Otherwise, the wrong song could wreck the concert‘s entire vibe. However, there wasn’t a single dull moment during the concert, not even during intermission.

The concert opened with Jessica Sole, whose sunny cover of “Welcome to New York” got the audience dancing and singing along. During her cover of “Lover, ” I noticed some of the coupled-up attendees exchange adoring glances and get cozy in each other’s arms. I even saw some Swiftie couples slow dancing during her performance. It was a very sweet and tender moment to witness.

Peter Peres followed Jessica, and he was my plus-one’s favourite performer of the night. His vocals were on point, his blue varsity jacket was very reminiscent of Swift’s Folklore era, and the onstage charisma was off-the-chain! The audience went wild when he performed “You Belong with Me.” After his set, he was seen in the audience enjoying the concert, chatting with audience members, and cheering on the other performers, further heightening the concert‘s friendly and open vibe.

The energy completely transformed when Jessica Towler hit the stage like a fireball in sexy red boots. Dressed in all-black sequins and these covetable snake print tights, Jessica nailed the dark and edgy villainess look of Swift’s Reputation era. 

While Jessica was onstage, I turned to my plus-one and asked her for the name of the song that was being performed at that moment. The look my plus-one gave me was one of bewilderment because I didn’t recognize the opening lines of “Bad Blood.” Don’t get me wrong. Prior to the concert, I could name a handful of chart-topping Taylor Swift songs off the top of my head. “Bad Blood” simply wasn’t one of them. It was a good thing that no one else heard me at that moment as surely that would have been a major faux-pas to commit amongst Swifties. 

Thankfully, it was intermission, and everyone got a chance to rest their feet and voices, peruse the Taylor Swift-themed cocktail menu, and shop for merchandise. The Taylor Swift cocktail menu was a huge hit with the audience! There were five cocktails in total, all aptly named after famous Taylor Swift songs. The Getaway Car was the crowd favourite for its refreshing balance of sweet, fruity, tart, and boozy. The Champagne Problems was a perfectly serviceable, easy-drinking mimosa. Fun fact: According to Page Six via The Washington Post, Taylor Swift‘s favourite cocktail is the French Blonde. 

This year’s tribute concert also had vendors selling unique and handcrafted Taylor Swift merchandise. The vendors were Tea Time Designs, From The Vault Prints, Honey Harbour Designs, and Cloudeedoodle. Tea Time Designs offered a collection of Taylor-inspired wine glasses, mugs, stickers, and sweaters from various eras. From The Vault Prints offered stylistically designed song lyric prints, which is an excellent gift idea that more vendors should offer to the public. My plus-one and I snagged a couple of T-shirts, stickers, mugs, and wine glasses for ourselves and loved ones. We also received copies of the song lyric print for Swift’s “Long Live” in our VIP swag bags.

You would think that the energy would drop following all of that shopping and drinking during intermission. On the contrary! Greg Williams and The Dirty Magnolias, Broadtree, Maddie Corinne, and Paige Rutledge all rocked the second half of the show. Everyone loved Broadtree‘s covers of “Shake It Off,” “I Knew You Were Trouble,” “Mean,” “Me,” and “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” During their set, my plus-one and I belted out the chorus to “I Knew You Were Trouble” like we were the ones lamenting our past relationships with toxic ex-lovers. I must have been too busy dancing and singing to notice that they missed many opportunities to harmonize their vocals. 

As much as my plus-one and I enjoyed dancing and singing our hearts out, we were ready to slow down. Thankfully, Maddie Corinne and Paige Rutledge brought a much-appreciated slow cool-down period from all of the dancing and singing. While strumming her sparkly acoustic guitar, Paige openly shared with the audience her love for Taylor Swift. At 8 years old, she discovered Taylor Swift’s music, fell in love, taught herself how to play guitar, and pursued a career in country music because of her. Everyone loved hearing her play “Back to December,” “Style,” and “Love Story.” 

Encore and Final Thoughts

When Paige finished her set and left the stage, the crowd immediately cheered for an encore. Before one could finish saying, ” Look What You Made Me Do, ” all of the performers came back for one more song. The final song of the night was a lively rendition of “22. ”  

This was one of the best tribute concerts I’ve ever attended. From what I can recall, the only time I wasn’t dancing or singing along was when I had to take washroom breaks. The entire concert was a labour of love. A love for Taylor Swift, live music, and a good party. Feeling 22: A Live Tribute to Taylor Swift is definitely a concert that I strongly recommend to others, provided it returns to Toronto next year.

A big thank-you goes to Eric Alper and Part Of That Music for such a fun night.