Taylor Swift fans flock to the French Quarter ahead of the first big show | Music

People had gathered on the street below, hoping to catch the pearls. Most were female, most were young, and most were beaming with anticipation for Swift's upcoming performances. They were part of the army of Swifties — as Swift's ardent fans are known — who flocked to the shows in New Orleans.

Their presence was a gift to the city's hospitality industry, like a holiday that had unexpectedly arrived on the calendar.

Honoring Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce

“All Swifties are cute,” said Vickie Walters, one of the witches, standing in front of Tableau, puffing on a cigarette. Walters said she had outgrown Swiftiedom and planned to spend Friday night at the casino.

Still, she decided to dress up for the Taylor Swift invasion, wearing a sparkly Halloween outfit dedicated to Swift's boyfriend, NFL star Travis Kelce, complete with a football helmet mask, glued-on facial hair and a jersey with the inscription “Tragic Killsy.”

The mix of happy Swift fanaticism, Halloween and the historical wonderland atmosphere of the Vieux Carre was deliciously strange.

Patience pays off for Swifties

On Decatur Street, the line of Swifties seeking beignets at Café du Monde stretched for a block, from St. Peter Street to St. Ann Street, the entire width of Jackson Square. Introduce!

Amanda Stelten and two pals had waited an hour and a half – or maybe even an hour and 45 minutes – for their first taste of the powdered sugar donuts. They were not disappointed, devoured the pastries and shook the sweet residue out of the bag.

Starten traveled 1,200 miles from Minneapolis for Saturday's show and paid $260 for a ticket. She said she woke up early every morning for a month and went online, hoping a vacancy would pop up at the Hyatt near the Dome, until her patience finally paid off. She and her friends were as close to zero as possible.

Swiftie surrealism

To bide their time, Stelten and her friends planned to shop on Magazine Street, visit Louellen Berger's annual Halloween skeleton exhibit on St. Charles Avenue, which this year is dedicated to Swift, ride the streetcar, and go to the Polynesian restaurant Latitude 29 Dine at Beachbum Berry and take a ghost tour.

As the seemingly endless crowd of Swifties waited for beignets, a trailer rolled down Decatur Street carrying several Mardi Gras float sculptures, including a bust of New Orleans' favorite bawdy, feminist burlesque rapper Boyfriend, who bears some resemblance to Swift . and in some ways is exactly the opposite. What are the chances?

Elsewhere in the French Quarter, people wearing Swift T-shirts occupied most of the seats at Clover Grill. A truck rumbled by, “Shake It Off” blared from the window, and “Dude with a Broken Heart” blared from a nightclub.

Where the boys aren't

If I remember correctly, British pop star Ed Sheeran caused a roar of laughter during a Super Dome concert a few years ago when he thanked the women in the audience for coming and especially the men for getting carried away.

Sure, Swift has legions of male fans, but on Canal Street, two young women from Tacoma, Washington — Olivia Gackle and Taylor Trottier — explained that while they were eager to attend Swift's Friday concert, their male companions were there precisely for the New Orleans adventure .

Olivia's husband Casey Gackle made it clear that he really liked Swift. He had seen her once at an outdoor venue in Washington and seen her film, but had never been to Bourbon Street.

Superdome superstar

Later in the day, over on Poydras Street, street performers playing Taylor Swift hits joined throngs of Swifties entering the Dome in their Eras outfits.

As Swift fans entered the stadium decked out in jewels and glitter, people began exchanging friendship bracelets before the concert, turning strangers into friends.

In Champions Square, thousands of Swift fans took selfies, admired each other's outfits and raved about their favorite albums.

The merchandise stands were open days before the concert, but there seemed to be endless lines there too. Despite the 30 degree weather, fans wore Eras Tour sweatshirts and T-shirts.

Some fans had hundreds of friendship bracelets and one even had a Taylor-inspired tattoo sleeve.

After a year of waiting and sometimes traveling hundreds of miles, Swifties enjoyed the Swift glory and were ready to go in and sing along to the three-hour-plus setlist.

Reporter Hannah Levitan contributed to this report.