18 July 4–10, 2024 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Different Eras Charity Eden is the ‘mastermind’ behind Dallas’ best Taylor Swift tribute act. BY CARLY MAY GRAVLEY “O ne of the things I’m somewhat embarrassed to share when people ask about this is that I’m actually very new to being a Taylor Swift fan,” says Dallas-based singer-songwriter Charity Eden. It’s not embarrassing, of course. Swift, who’s been famous for almost two decades, hit astronomical levels of popularity during the last few years thanks to her blockbuster Eras Tour, among other things. She’s gained countless new fans during that time. It is a little surprising to hear this from Eden, however, seeing as she’s the creator and lead singer of Lover, a local Taylor Swift tribute act. Eden became a Swiftie in 2022 with the release of Midnights. Having grown up in a “super Christian” household — her father wrote songs for the Christian rock band Petra and spent years as a worship leader at her church — Eden developed an appreciation not just for Swift but for secular music. “I think some of it has to do with timing, just where I was in my life at the time,” she says of this shift. “But I do think that every song on that album specifically spoke to me in a way that helped me process my own life situations. I feel like I related to that somewhat even more so than I would a worship song.” In the relatively short time since Eden listened to Midnights, she has made a name for herself staging impressive re-creations of the Eras Tour across the country and the world. Tickets for the real Eras Tour are notoriously expensive and hard to come by, but Eden and her team have created a worthy substitute. Her hair, makeup and costuming might make you do a double take, and even certain graphics and set pieces convincingly emulate Swift’s mega- spectacle performances. Without the millions of dollars and massive creative teams that make the Eras Tour possible, it takes a lot of creativity and finessing to recreate Swift’s performances as well as Eden does. “I feel like it is putting my DIY skills to the biggest test,” she says. “It takes a lot of online shopping. Trying to find outfits that are similar or people that can make outfits that are similar and doing a lot of different props and staging — that kind of gives the same idea of what she does on tour.” DIY sets are also helpful in getting Eden on Swift’s level, literally. “A lot of times, she’s on this kind of raised platform,” Eden says of Swift’s Eras Tour stage. “So I bought this acrylic LED stage that I can kind of assemble to be a similar size or at least just give some sort of elevation.” Details like this make all of the difference in how the audience perceives her show. “It just gives a little bit of that same feeling,” she says. “It’s not just me standing on a normal, flat stage with the rest of the band and the sound equipment, but taking it to that next level to try to create that same perspective.” The release of Swift’s latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, brought a whole new section of the Eras Tour: new costumes, new choreography and new sets, all more elaborate than any of the “eras” already in the show. It can be overwhelming when your job is to replicate a specific show and that show undergoes a drastic, unexpected change. Eden rose to the challenge. “I freaked out in the best way,” she says with a laugh. “I was watching [the set’s debut in Paris] live and was on Amazon and texting my friends all at the same time to find exactly what I was going to do.” Eden felt especially inspired by the new Tortured Poets segment and pulled out all the stops to make sure her version did right by it. “Tortured Poets alone could be a standalone show,” she says. “Every element that she added is so detailed and very expensive. Like the last song that she does, ‘I Can Do It With a Broken Heart.’ That song alone has an entire new outfit, entire new shoes. All new intense choreography. Multiple different props for the dancers.” And when we say “pulled out all the stops,” we mean it. “It has this whole jazzy intro at the beginning,” she says “So I actually hired a trombonist and a trumpet player to record it and try to copy it exactly.” Two weeks (a “fortnight,” if you will) after Swift debuted her Tortured Poets set in Paris, Eden debuted her version at Legacy Hall in Plano. She now considers it one of her favorite “eras” to perform. When she’s not Taylor Swift, Eden is, well, herself. She still sings in her church and is also launching a pop career of her own, no blond wig required. Her first single, released last August, is aptly named “be yourself.” She promises more original songs are in the pipeline as well as a different, more personal tribute. “I’m also doing a series where I’m recording songs that my dad wrote [...] and kind of have my own collection of his songs,” she says. “He’s an amazing songwriter.” She does say that a little bit of Swift has crossed over to her own stage presence. “I think trying to dance like her is what got me comfortable and thinking that I am a good dancer,” she says. “And now I literally dance all the time.” And regardless of where she’s performing, whether it’s at church, her Lover show or one of her own sets, she’s trying to bring about the same sense of togetherness. “Even though it is very different — very different outfits, very different movements and even different singing styles — it really is just creating this space where people get to come as they are,” she says. Charity Eden’s single “be yourself” is available on most streaming platforms, and information about upcoming solo performances can be found on her Instagram. Details on upcoming Lover shows and information on how to book Eden for private events can be found on Lover’s website. courtesy Charity Eden Charity Eden may not actually be Taylor Swift, but she is still bejeweled. ▼ Music D DIGITAL MARKETING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE INTERESTED CANDIDATES PLEASE SEND YOUR COVER LETTER AND RESUME TO CHARLIE. CHARLIE. DONDLINGER @DALLASOBSERVER.COM
