I remember very clearly when my daughter, at the age of 4, put together the idea that Michelle Zauner, of Japanese Breakfast, was a real person, who really performed songs live.
Fast-forward three years later and my daughter is now 7, and not exactly a Swiftie, but aware enough that the tracks “You Need to Calm Down” and “Shake It Off” are the things she would consider her “jams.” We’re also equally into Katy Perry in our house, which, if I had my druthers, I’d rather listen to than Swift (I know, I know).
But, as many parents know, Swift holds a special sway over the very young (and, um, the older of us, too) , even if a lot of the stuff in her songs is way over our kiddo’s collective heads. Belting out a Taylor Swift song with your kids is not only a great way to bond, but it’s cathartic, too. The thing is though, while it might be nice to consider seeing Taylor Swift in concert at the peak of parenting goals right now, the reality is that it is not only out of reach for most of us financially, it’s also wildly impracticable. Four-hour events of any kind do not mix well with grade-school-aged children, ever. And if you have even younger kids, then you already know going to a big concert can result in a where’s-the-bathroom-I’m-so-tired nightmare instantly.
This is why you should take your kid to a Taylor Swift cover band. This summer, I discovered a nationwide organization called The Rock and Roll Playhouse. In essence, this is a group that curates live, local musicians in specific towns and cities, and has them play cover versions from popular musical acts. Overwhelmingly the Rock and Roll Playhouse favors Phish, The Grateful Dead, and the Beatles. But the other kind of show that crops up the most in their line-up is events where they play “The Music of Taylor Swift.”
This summer, in Portland, Maine, my wife, 7-year-old daughter and I attended one of the Taylor Swift concerts at the Portland House of Music. This is a regular music venue, not a kids’ space, which means the actual experience of being at a show was 100 percent legit. I could even order myself a hard seltzer! But, the best thing about this concert — which was during the day, just after lunch — is that it was exactly 45 minutes long, and nobody was bored for one single second.
Kids (mostly girls) were clad in sparkles and rainbows and encouraged to sing if they knew the words, but more importantly, to dance. My daughter loves to dance to any beat and she was very much in her element in this setting. “Shake It Off” can cure what ails you, especially when you’re 7.
But, crucially, there wasn’t really anything cutesy about this show. The band was a real band, the drums were loud, and the guitars sounded incredible. There were two singers for a few songs, which was also great because the band wasn’t actually attempting to be like Taylor Swift. Instead, the goal was to present the songs as great live rock songs, which is pretty refreshing when you’ve heard the digital versions (Taylor’s or otherwise) of all these songs a million times. And, the revelation of live music, for children, is that these sounds aren’t merely conjured by pressing a button or dropping a needle. Humans make these sounds and they work hard to make them. This is just good parenting 101: Kids need time away from screens, even if those screens are the ones they use to select music.
Other than the fact that my daughter absolutely slayed on the dance floor and that her sparkles were the coolest of all the kids there, I think the thing that I loved the most about the Taylor Swift cover band was the fact that they legitimately rocked. There was no moshing during “Karma,” but for a second, the energy in the place made it seem like it could have happened. It was beautiful and innocent chaos, that also had a very clear specified stop and start time; the definition of parenting bliss. My daughter had been to live music before, but there was something about the space being a place where she might see a big-kid show one day that made it feel authentic. Seeing rock shows means sweat and effort, and as hard as the band was working, the kids (and parents) were feeling it, too.
Much has been made about families spending too much time and money on Taylor Swift, or about how bonding over Taylor Swift with kids can transform a relationship, or destroy it. All of that is, in the end, a bunch of noise. Right now, today, my child’s relationship with Swift isn’t about the singer as a person, the relationship is with the music. By the time my daughter is old enough to attend a rock show that is 21+, Taylor Swift will be nearly 50 years old. Good music isn’t about age or some kind of weird generational divide. Long after all the think pieces about Taylor representing (or not representing) a generation have been forgotten, the one thing that will remain is the music.
If I never see Taylor Swift live, I’ll be slightly sad, if only because I love music and I’m very curious about the spectacle. But I’m not worried if my daughter never does. Her local rock band nailed these songs, and, if we’re all very lucky, cover bands doing Taylor Swift will never go out of style.
Ryan Britt is the author of three books of nonfiction, an editor at Inverse, and was formerly, an editor at Fatherly. He lives with his wife and daughter in Maine.
