The front page of The Marietta Times from Nov. 13, 2007

As a parent you try to do things with and for your children that will enrich their lives and they will find enjoyable.

We were no different than many parents when our children were younger. Taking them to Washington D.C. for instance, to immerse them in American history and places like Yellowstone to give them a taste of natural history. We have taken them to see musical giants like Billy Joel and Paul McCartney.

What we failed to do was take them to see the current biggest musical act in the world when a younger version of her passed through Marietta in 2007.

Yes, I am talking about Taylor Swift and the stop she made in Marietta on Nov. 12, 2007. The one where she sang nine songs including “Our Song,” “Teardrops on My Guitar,” “Should’ve Said No,” “Tim McGraw,” “Picture to Burn,” “Fearless,” “The Outside,” “Permanent Marker” and “The Easy Part.” The one where she hugged and took pictures with every fan that wanted to meet her, that one.

My wife Lori, a professor at the college, likely could have scored tickets to the show. At that time Swift was an unknown force to us. My wife asked a co-worker, “Who is Taylor Swift?”

“I don’t know, I think she is country,” replied the co-worker who now wishes to remain nameless. “Oh, my kids do not like country,” replied my wife.

On the day of the concert, Swift was in my wife’s office to be interviewed on the campus radio station. She of course took time to meet everyone there.

The Marietta Times from Nov. 13 reported on the many fans that lined up to get into the show. Sam Shawver, the reporter who wrote the story, recently told me that he was surprised how long the line was to get into the Dyson-Baudo Recreation Center for the sold-out show. Like my daughters, Sam missed the actual show. He had a deadline to make; my daughters just had a clueless dad.

My daughters are in fact huge Taylor Swift fans. How huge? They actually bought tickets to a concert in California that was later canceled by COVID-19. They have attended her concerts in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Cincinnati where they, now grown adults, dressed up in Swift-like dresses for the show.

The question, “Who is Taylor Swift?” has become shorthand in my family forhow clueless we can actually be sometimes.

Following Marietta, Swift’s career did OK. In 2024 she completed what is likely the largest and most profitable concert tour in history. The Eras tour sold more than $2 billion in tickets at 149 shows in 51 cities on five continents. She is rumored to be marrying football great Travis Kelce at some point this summer. Perhaps in Rhode Island in July, according to my daughters.

No one with a pulse will ever ask “Who is Taylor Swift?” again.

Art Smith is online manager of The Marietta Times and Parkersburg News and Sentinel. He can be contacted at asmith@mariettatimes.com