More than 190,000 lucky Taylor Swift ticket holders over the course of three nights took over Solder Field in Chicago. But those inside the stadium weren't the only ones who enjoyed the show.
On the grass outside the venue, hundreds of ticketless fans gathered to create their own outdoor concert in hopes of hearing Swift's full setlist.
"We tried and tried and tried to get tickets, and earlier this week my husband said, 'you know it's going to be a once in a lifetime atmosphere,'" said Kelly Kennedy, 40, who brought her 8-year-old daughter and a friend to the grass near the stadium for Friday's show. "You can't be inside but maybe you can go sit outside and still be part of the experience."
Late last week, Soldier Field announced that the venue and the area around it were at "max capacity" and "strongly discouraged" fans without tickets from gathering outside the stadium during shows. In a press release, the stadium said that "No part of the show will be visible and stadium acoustics do not provide any audible quality outside of it."
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But that didn't stop fans from gathering on the grass. And for many, it worked. Some even compared it to the experience of seeing a show at the popular suburban outdoor music venue Ravinia Festival, in Highland Park.
"Taylor Swift PSA—if you were one of the unlucky ones who didn’t get tickets, there is still hope!!!," a Friday post on a suburban Chicago Facebook group read. "We went last night without tickets after legit doing all the things for days. Continued to stalk all said things on Metra to Soldier Field. Nada. But…You can listen outside the field and can hear the songs so well! We were strategic with our placement and it was honestly like Ravinia— beyond exceeded my expectations."
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The post, which has been liked more than 200 times, drew 53 comments -- the majority of which hoped for advice on how to do the same for the Saturday and Sunday shows.
"We did the same on Friday!" one comment read, accompanied by a video showing dozens of fans with blankets, foldable chairs and picnics set up outside the venue.
"Only Taylor Swift could get thousands of people to turn Soldier Field into Ravinia," another post reads, followed by another comment that said "I am 100 doing this!"
According to comments, the biggest complaint from fans wasn't that that they couldn't get tickets to the show. It was just that the grass outside was a bit uncomfortable to sit on.
"Still amazing," one comment reads. "If you go I recommend bringing a blanket. The ‘grass’ is super pokey and gets all over."
