Teens’ attempts to ‘manifest’ Taylor Swift tickets pay off

Desperate times call for desperate measures, as the saying goes. And Shae Harding and her daughters were getting desperate.

It was November 2023, and tickets for Taylor Swift’s then-just-announced Eras Tour shows at BC Place in December 2024 were about to go on sale.

Shae had already entered the pre-sales for Swift’s shows in Toronto and Seattle, but without any luck. The Langley mom and her daughters – 13-year-old Chloe and 16-year-old Cadence – wanted to make sure they did everything they could to make sure they had a chance to see their idol in their backyard.

For Chloe and Cadence, that included calling on supernatural forces in hopes of “manifesting” tickets.

“We just saw TikToks of everyone else doing it, so we thought we’d try,” said Cadence.

“I just have a lot of crystals, too, and we have a lot of candles, so we were like, ‘Might as well give it a go.'” added Chloe.

The girls lit candles and chanted in front of a makeshift shrine of crystals, friendship bracelets and other Swiftie memorabilia, along with a sign reading “I will get Taylor Swift tickets.”

Shae – who has followed Swift’s career since it began and takes credit for introducing her daughters to the artist – was supportive. She shared photos of the girls’ efforts on social media.

“Nothing else seemed to be working, so it was worth a shot,” Shae said.

Chloe and Cadence Harding attempt to “manifest” Taylor Swift tickets with candles, crystals and chanting in their Langley home. (Shae Harding)

Her post caught the attention of The Canadian Press, which featured the Harding family alongside other Swifties in a story about the frenzy for tickets. 

“We got a lot of press from it,” Shae said.

But no tickets. Neither the manifesting nor more traditional methods had worked.

“We had 40 – I think, 40 – different friends and family sign up,” Shae said. “Not one of us got a pre-sale code.”

Then, suddenly, on a recent camping trip, the family’s luck changed.

Shae’s husband received an email from a representative of RBC and its Avion Rewards program. They were trying to get in touch about Taylor Swift tickets.

“I thought it was some weird scam,” Shae recalled.

But then she started doing some research. The representative who emailed seemed legit, and there were videos from other TikTok users who said they had been contacted out of the blue and offered tickets in recognition of previous posts they had made about their fandom.

RBC and Avion Rewards are the “official financial services partner” and “official ticket access partner” of the Eras Tour in Canada. As it turned out, they had seen the Canadian Press story on CTV News Vancouver and decided to offer the Harding family tickets to one of the Vancouver shows.

The offer was real.

“That was a crazy shock,” Shae said. “(The girls) were freaking out, they were so excited, like, jumping up and down.”

“We started crying,” said Cadence.

In a statement, Mary DePaoli, RBC’s executive vice-president and chief marketing officer, said the bank and its rewards program have given away “hundreds of tickets” to Swift’s Eras Tour shows in Toronto and Vancouver.

“It’s stories like Shae and her daughters that capture the heart of our mission with this partnership: helping fans make their dreams a reality,” DePaoli said.

“Dream” was the word Shae used to describe it.

She and her daughters have each watched the film version of The Eras Tour multiple times. They stood and sang together in the theatre when it first came out.

To be able to experience the show together in person will be the latest highlight of the trio’s shared journey of fandom.

“Her songs make us feel really understood, and stuff, and we can relate to her lyrics,” Cadence said. “I just love her as a person. She’s so kind.”

“We just kind of, like, look up to her,” added Chloe.

For Shae, Taylor Swift is “an excellent role model” for girls, and one she’s happy to be able to share with them.

“It’s just – it’s something nice that we can connect on, being at different ages,” she said.

“We can scream at the top of our lungs in the car, singing songs and talking about the new, like, what are the rumours – like, when’s the next album coming out? We stay up late waiting for the new album to drop. It’s just kind of something that we can have, special.”

Cadence Harding, left, and her mother Shae pose for a selfie during Chloe Harding’s Taylor-Swift-themed 13th birthday party. (Shae Harding)

And thanks to an unlikely series of events that began with some candles and a sign, it’s something they’ll get to experience at BC Place this December.

“Manifesting worked,” Shae said.

With files from The Canadian Press