New secret revealed: Does Charleston have a Taylor Swift fan club?
A few weekends ago, a bachelorette in a white party dress and headband veil was putting on lipstick in the bathroom at karaoke bar Bangkok Lounge. This weekend, she will get married.
But in addition to being a new bride, this 24-year-old is the founder of Charleston’s Taylor Swift fan club, something she shared before running up to sing a song from her favorite artist that pina colada slushie-filled night.
Bailey Larkin started the club, which has more than 800 members on Facebook, just eight months ago before moving from her hometown of Charlotte to Charleston. She had been part of the Charlotte club for about a year, helping to organize Taylor Swift-themed events around town, and enjoyed the camaraderie. She wanted to carry that over to a new city.
“It’s been a great way for me to make friends in my new home, because when you move, you’re not really knowing anybody, and I’ve made quite literally my best friends,” said Larkin.
Larkin first heard of Taylor Swift at a middle school fair, where a group of girls started singing “Picture to Burn” from her debut self-titled 2006 album.
“I will never forget them getting on stage and just yelling those lyrics: ‘I hate that stupid old pickup truck you never let me drive!'” Larkin recalled.
Photos: Charleston Taylor Swift Club holds listening party for new album
The Charleston Taylor Swift Club held a listening party for Swift’s new album “The Tortured Poets Department” as well as tuning in to the premier of a new music video from the same album.
It was love at first listen. After that, Larkin remembers going to see Swift on her Red Tour and keeping up with her music and life ever since. She attended an Eras Tour concert last April and will again this October. Another member of the fan club will actually be joining her for that show in Miami.
“It’s hard to make friends as an adult,” said Larkin. “With this, we already have one thing in common and can build from that. It’s been so much fun making friends and connecting.”
On April 19, the club got together for a listening party for Swift’s latest album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” at Fatty’s Beer Works. Larkin and some of the other admin set up a bracelet-making station, handed out themed temporary tattoos, sold raffle tickets for a chance to win copies of the new record and organized the streaming of Swift’s music video release for the song “Fortnight” with Post Malone.
During a costume contest, one member, Chanel Leach, even dropped into a split in her pink fringe dress and cowboy boots, inciting cheers from the crowd.
About 50 people came out for the event, including 35-year-old Ashley Deutsch, a self-proclaimed socially awkward wife, book nerd and dog mom, originally from Maryland. She’s been in the fan club since right around its inception.
“I can talk about Taylor Swift forever, and I’m pretty sure my husband is sick of it,” she said with a laugh. “It felt like the right fit for me.”
She said that just like Swift, who provides an outlet for women of all ages, sizes and backgrounds, this group has provided an inviting community. She especially loves all the sharing of theories about who songs are about, relating with others on favorite lyrics and finding other similar interests with members of the group.
Ali Schmidt, originally from Anderson and now a nurse home visitor for MUSC, said it’s been great finding other “feelers” who can relate to Swift’s emotional lyrics with her. While Schmidt is a newcomer to the group, she said the album release party connected her to some very inviting people who she can’t wait to hang out with again.
“Taylor’s fans are notorious for being girls’ girls, so it’s a very welcoming environment to make new friends and socialize,” she said.
Members of the Charleston Taylor Swift Club gather around cellphones to see Swift’s Instagram story where she posted a clip of Travis Kelce on April 19, 2024, in Charleston.
Another admin in the group, Jules Day, became a part of the group after meeting Larkin last October. They bonded immediately over Swift, the artist who Day said “soundtracked a lot of the stages of my life,” and planned one of the group’s first events together, a “1989” Taylor’s Version album release party.
Day also relocated to Charleston recently, from Dallas.
“As a Charleston transplant, I know what it feels like to struggle to make friends in a new place,” Day said. “We host these events to offer that safe space for people to come together and meet new people. … It’s been a great help to me mentally, really.”
Bailey Larkin carries a satirical poster of two of Taylor Swift’s former partners after a group photo at an album listening party put on by the Charleston Taylor Swift Club on April 19, 2024, in Charleston.
Elizabeth Edmunds, originally from Lynchburg, Va., moved to Charleston to attend college in 2018, and has loved digging for Easter eggs, or clues, as to what’s coming next in Taylor Swift’s social media posts and other fan engagement.
“It’s so fun to be detectives and try to decode the clues,” she said, and teaming up with more Swifties to solve these mysteries has brought a lot of excitement. Plus, more brain power to get to the bottom of things.
While most of the members of the Charleston Taylor Swift fan club are women, there are a few men, who founder Larkin said she always enjoys hearing from for a new perspective or take.
Brittani Barratt watches a new music video released by Taylor Swift play on screen at an album listening party put on by the Charleston Taylor Swift Club on April 19, 2024, in Charleston.
Larkin aims to host about one event a month, with details posted in the “Charleston Taylor Swift Club” Facebook group, and also on the side gathers a smaller group of members for a monthly book club. She even hosted a Galentine’s Day party at her house and an ornament swap.
The group is also partnering with the Charleston Music Farm for an upcoming “Taylor’s Version Swiftie Dance Party” on May 3. A June silent disco is also in the works. Larkin has also partnered with local nonprofit My Sister’s House to give back by donating some of the proceeds of these events. In December, she asked members to bring toys to donate to the nonprofit at an “Ugly Sweater Era” contest at Holy City Brewing.
“I want to build up the community,” she said. “If anyone can do it, it’s the Swifties.”
