Taylor Swift kicked off her two-date Eras Tour in Toronto on Thursday night (November 14), and the city is going all out.
Before she took to the stage, footage was released of her arriving with a full force of mounted police on the Gardiner Expressway – which is normally packed with rush hour traffic.
There were plenty of Swifties seen following the Taylor Swift Way signs throughout downtown. Only ticket holders could get close to the Rogers Center before the show – including the city's homeless population, who were evicted from encampments and forced to move into shelters.
An official Taylgate event took place at the nearby Metro Toronto Convention Center with photo ops, silent discos and friendship bracelet making stations. A similar “Swift Station” activation offered similar experiences on Queen Street while decked out to look like a tube station.
News stations broadcast live from outside the stadium throughout the night while Swift took the stage inside. Stories abounded of fans who tried and failed to get tickets, or ended up getting scammed (the Canadian Anti-Fraud Center issued warnings as they were overwhelmed with complaints). However, Ticketmaster released some last-minute tickets on the day of the show, although they were gone quickly.
Midway through the concert, Taylor Swift gave a few nods to the Canadian crowd. “It doesn't look whole Folklore Does the era just belong to Canada?' he asked before launching into this segment of the show. “The place I envisioned in my mind where Folklore done, it's very natural, wilderness, beautiful, forests that have existed since the beginning of time. And it's like we're giving it back Folklore era where it belongs anyway.”
Her dancer Cam also added a Canadian touch during “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” with an exaggerated “Sorry about that!” during his line.
There are two more Eras Tour shows this weekend, on November 15th and November 16th, before it returns to the Rogers Center next week for shows on November 21st, 22nd and 23rd. – Richard Trapunsky
Canadian songwriters earn Grammy nominations for Beyoncé Cowboy Carter
The 2025 Grammy nominations were announced last week, and Beyoncé leads the list — along with her fellow Canadians.
“Texas Hold 'Em,” co-written by three Canadians, has been nominated for two of the biggest awards, record of the year and song of the year.
Writers Nathan Ferraro, Lowell and Megan Bülow all received nominations for Song of the Year, which is awarded to the writers and songwriters behind the track, as well as Best Country Song. Ferraro spoke to me Billboard Canada earlier this year for his Canadian writing team.
“[The collaboration] it works well for us,” Ferraro said Billboard Canada. “We are such good friends and know each other's strengths and weaknesses. I think we all have a lot of mutual respect, so we have a lot of confidence together and that allows us to take risks.”
Lowell, meanwhile, won the inaugural Billboard Canada Non-Performing Songwriter Award this summer.
Beyoncé's country album Cowboy Carter it's also up for album of the year with Canadian Dave Hamelin (formerly of Montreal indie rock band The Stills and now a regular with 070 Shake) nominated for his work as producer and songwriter throughout the album.
In total, Beyoncé picked up 11 nominations for the story of Cowboy Carter, which includes a number of Canadian contributions.
Serban Ghenea, meanwhile, collected the most Canadian nominations: five in total, for his work with a trio of pop stars: Sabrina Carpenter, Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande.
Other Canadian nominees included The Weeknd, Kaytranada, Charlotte Day Wilson, Spiritbox and Cirkut, for his work on cultural phenomenon Charli XCX; Brat.
Read about all Canadian nominees here. –Rosie Long Decter
The Quebec government is seeking action against ticket resale website Billets.ca
The Quebec government is cracking down on ticket reselling.
The province's Office of Consumer Protection announced Wednesday, Nov. 13, that the Director of Criminal and Criminal Prosecutions has served 26 infringement notices on Billets.ca.
If found guilty, each violation could result in a fine of between $2,000 and $100,000 for the company and between $600 and $15,000 for Chairman Éric Bussières.
The Bureau accuses Billets.ca of reselling tickets at prices higher than those advertised by authorized sellers. It also charges that the site is reselling tickets it doesn't have. The violations occurred between November 2022 and September 2023.
Ticket resales have become an increasingly hot topic in the industry. Ticketmaster issued a warning ahead of Oasis' North American tour sale dates, advising consumers not to trust resale sites that were already advertising tickets. The ticketing giant has also faced allegations in the past for working with resale sites.
Earlier this year, more than 250 artists signed a letter called Fix the Tix to US lawmakers. “Predatory resellers are unregulated while siphoning money from the live entertainment ecosystem for their sole benefit,” the letter said.
Quebec's Loi sur la protection du consommateur prohibits sellers from raising prices during resales without express permission from the original authorized seller. It also prohibits the use of technology to bypass checks to obtain tickets. Sites like Billets.ca have often circumvented these rules by acting as a broker for individual sellers, rather than selling the tickets themselves.
Quebec music association ADISQ welcomed the news.
“It's a relief to finally see charges brought against Billets.ca and the practice of fraudulent ticket resale,” says Eve Paré, Executive Director of ADISQ, in French.
ADISQ states that it has made several complaints to the Quebec Office of Consumer Protection regarding unauthorized resales of tickets.
ADISQ notes that it also looks forward to the outcome of a class action lawsuit filed against Billets.ca on October 13, 2023. –RLD
