By: Grace Liu

On July 23, during a Taylor Swift concert in Seattle, Washington, Swift fans shook the earth, causing a so-called “Swift Quake.” The ground shaking resulted from the music sound system, and the fans dancing in sync to the music.

The Taylor Swift concert in downtown Seattle shook the ground so hard that it was equivalent to a magnitude 2.3 earthquake.

“The so-called “Swift Quake” recorded a maximum ground acceleration of roughly 0.011 meters per second squared,” said Jackie Caplan-Auerbach, a seismologist at Western Washington University.

Taylor Swift is currently 4 months into her Era’s Tour, a sold-out nationwide tour that has gathered large crowds of fans. Her opening show in March drew about 70,000 fans. Ticket prices for her show in Santa Clara on Friday were selling for up to $20,000 on Vivid Seats.

“It’s certainly the biggest concert we’ve had in a while,” said Mouse Reusch, a seismologist at the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, which monitors earthquake activity in the Pacific Northwest. “We’re talking about 70,000 people and all the music and paraphernalia associated with the concert.”

Some Taylor Swift songs that were likely the cause of the ground shaking were “Shake It Off,” “Love Story,” “Bad Blood,” and “Anti-Hero.”

Vibrations were also recorded when The Weeknd played at Lumen Field on August 25, 2022, although they were not as strong. Beyonce will also be performing at Lumen Field on September 14.

The “Swift Quake” has drawn comparisons to the pro football “Beast Quake” of 2011. The roars of fans following a last-minute touchdown by Marshawn Lynch triggered seismic activity. The shaking of the ground was more than “twice as hard” as at the 2011 Seahawks game, Caplan-Auerbach said.

The main difference between a crowd cheering at a football game and a concert is that roars from the crowd last only for a few seconds, while songs during a concert take minutes.

“Maybe there’s some young Swifties out there that will someday become seismologists or earth scientists,” said Reusch. “That would be a real happy ending.”

Link to article: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/28/arts/music/taylor-swift-earthquake-seattle-.html