Taylor Swift has lots of fans, but sometimes it can be hard to connect with them. Fortunately, the Taylor Swift Fan Club looks to solve that problem.
The club started at the beginning of the fall 2022 semester and meets every Tuesday evening to discuss songs, have watch parties or even host trivia.
The Fan Club is both an appreciation and discussion focused club that regularly hosts discussions of Swift’s songs as well as events like a trivia night, watch parties of her recorded tours and listening parties for her new albums.
The founding members are Joshua Morris, Sam Antipov, Jia Watson-Fisher and Katie Lesicka. In the spring 2022 semester, they approached Jennifer Dell, the director of the undergraduate social work program at the University of Oklahoma, who frequently played Taylor Swift in her classes.
Dell is a big Taylor Swift fan, with her favorite album being "Folklore." Watson-Fisher asked Dell to be the club’s faculty sponsor, and Dell was delighted to do so.
“I play music sometimes in my classes, and I teach a group practice class and I definitely played some Taylor Swift songs,” Dell said. “I think it had come out that I was a Taylor Swift fan.”
The club started as a listening party of five friends for Taylor Swift’s latest album, "Red (Taylor’s Version)." After that, the idea of creating a bigger club for "Swifties" across campus started to form.
Antipov, a junior pre-pharmacy major and one of the founders of the Fan Club, said when they heard about the involvement fair in August, they decided to go for it.
“We were all in agreement at the same time without even talking to each other like, ‘We need to do this,’” Antipov said.
They made an Instagram, planned activities, and by their first meeting on Sept. 13, they were ready to meet the fans for trivia. Everyone sat at tables based on their favorite albums during the first meeting.
“Before the meeting, I couldn’t find any people who liked 'Folklore,'” Antipov said. “And then we have this table and I’m like, ‘You like Folklore too?’”
The different album fans became teams that competed in the trivia games. The battle was hard fought and ended up coming down to two tie breakers. Even after that, there still ended up being a tie between teams "1989" and "Speak Now."
The Taylor Swift Fan Club is meant to bring all Swift's fans together. The club was born out of the idea to help Swifties build connections.
“It’s easy to bump into (Taylor Swift Fans), but it’s difficult to make lasting connections with them,” Morris said. “I think this club is a great opportunity to build those bonds.”
Dell, the club faculty sponsor, also says the club is a great way to use music to connect with others.
“It’s great to just have different trivia and album listening nights and use it as a way to build fellowship,” Dell said. “I think that’s the great thing about this kind of club is fellowship around shared interests, which I think is a phenomenal thing.”
During the meeting on Sept. 20, the club watched the Reputation Stadium Tour, a filming of Swift’s 2018 world tour. The attendees sang, laughed and cried as Taylor Swift put on a big performance. It was a fun and safe space for Swifties.
It was a time for Swifties to meet and make new friends. Clayton Nowland, a sophomore special education major, attended the Taylor Swift Fan Club and said he was glad to find a place with other Swift fans.
“I’m a really big Taylor Swift fan, and I’m glad to find a club for other Swifites,” Nowland said. “Meeting people who have the same music taste I do (is my favorite part).”
Anyone is welcome to join the club, no matter how many songs they know. A Swiftie is anyone who enjoys Taylor Swift, or even simply taps their foot along to "Love Story."
“I think it’s just liking Taylor Swift in any capacity,” Morris said. “Everyone has loved Taylor Swift at one point in their life, as much as they hate to admit it.”
Every member of the club has some reason for loving Swift and her songs. For instance, one of Morris’ favorite Swift albums is "Folklore" because it came out during a time of hardship.
“Folklore has a special spot in my heart because it was COVID, and 2020 was a rough year,” Morris said. “Taylor releasing Folklore was a great breath of fresh air during that time.”
The club will have song discussions and breakdowns, where they will discuss everything from the lyrics, how it was made and the instrumentals. On Sept. 27, they broke down “Moment I Knew (Taylor’s version)”.
The main event for this semester is Swift’s new album, "Midnights". It is set to release on Oct. 21. The Taylor Swift Fan Club will host a listening party on that day at 7:30 p.m. to celebrate the launch of the new album. The club is excited to prepare the party.
“It’s very difficult to figure out the vibe (of the album and party) because we don’t know if we’re going to need spots for people to cry or for people to dance,” Morris said.
It can be hard to guess what Swift will put out. This will be the first album with new songs Swift has done since "Evermore," which was released in Dec. 2021.
She also released updated versions of her albums "Red" and "Fearless," called "Taylor’s Versions", in 2021.
Antipov hopes Swift will bring something new to the table with "Midnights."
“I’m really looking forward to a new genre,” Antipov said, “We don’t know what it sounds like.”
Swift has told fans that this album will delve into her own insecurities. However, they will need to wait till the album’s release before knowing the deeper themes of the album.
The club will also host watch parties for any future albums that may come out.
Morris is glad that the club is bringing Swifties together, a thing he did not have in the past.
“It just warms my heart because in my hometown there weren’t a lot of big Swifties,” Morris said. “Seeing these people, building these connections and having the opportunity to laugh and cry with her songs, it’s great.”
“Just come on by and see what the Taylor Swift Fan Club can bring to your life,” Morris said.
The club regularly posts updates on their Instagram like club meeting information. The club meets every Tuesday.
