While superstar entertainer Taylor Swift continues her Eras Tour across Europe this week, residents of a certain age may recall that she once performed right here in Alexandria, making a pitstop 15 years ago at a local high school .
It was Tuesday, April 28, 2009. The multi-Grammy-winner stopped by the Garwood Whaley Auditorium at Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria to play an hourlong private concert for the student body.
How did they get so lucky? Some 804 Bishop Ireton students sent in the most texts (19,000 texts) in a Verizon Wireless-backed contest. The school with the most texts won a private concert from the singer.
When Verizon contacted the school, at first they didn't believe it.“They (Verizon) called the principal’s secretary at the time and she thought it was a scam so she said ‘Sure, sure, we’ll get back to you.’ When she didn’t, they called again and said, “Hey, you guys won this contest because your kids texted the most,” Laura Fannon, former vice principal of students services, told the Arlington Catholic Herald.
The Washington Post was there the day of the concert to report on the event. "It's so good to be at Ireton today!" the then-19-year-old shouted to the crowd. Songs she performed that day included "You Belong With Me," "White Horse," "Hey Stephen," "Our Song," "Teardrops on My Guitar" and "Love Story."
At the time, in 2009, Swift was preparing for her first headlining tour, The Fearless Tour, from April 23 to July 10, 2010, playing 118 shows.
Swift was welcomed by the school community, signing posters, meeting students, and administrators, and even receiving some Bishop Ireton merch.
Since 2009, Swift has become a pop icon, with 10 studio albums, headlining six tours and earning 14 Grammys.
Currently, Swift is on her sold-out worldwide Eras Tour, performing 153 shows across the United States, South America, Asia, Australia, Europe, and Canada.
For some Bishop Ireton students, that concert in 2009 would be mighty hard to top.
