BY KEELIN EVERLY-LANG for WEEKLY VOLCANO 10/3/25 |
Get your friendship bracelets ready—Taylor Swift’s latest album The Life of a Showgirl will be released at 12:00 a.m. Eastern on October 3. For the Pacific time zone, that means the album will actually debut Thursday, October 2, at 9:00 p.m.
Aside from blocking out your calendar to listen to the album on repeat or lining up around the block to try to acquire a special-edition vinyl, local fans have other exciting opportunities to celebrate the occasion with fellow Swifties in style. From craft parties to a special movie-theater experience, there will be several events beginning on October 3.
The Life of a Showgirl is the thirty-five-year-old megastar’s twelfth album and introduces a new chapter after the completion of her Eras Tour. The international tour brought together the many facets of her personal and musical identities, showcasing elements of each of her distinct eras. The upcoming album was written, recorded, and produced on the road during the tour, which had 149 stops. One of those stops was Seattle, where more than 70,000 fans filled Lumen Field in 2023 and broke the venue’s attendance record, according to The Seattle Times.
In an interview with Rolling Stone about the upcoming record, Swift said the album will be about “what was going on behind the scenes in my inner life during this tour, which was so exuberant and electric and vibrant.” With this description in mind, audiences can expect quite a contrast to the more reflective mood of her last album, The Tortured Poets Department, which was released in April 2024. Other hints of what to expect with the new album can be found in the glitzy and glamorous visuals released so far, juxtaposed with glimpses behind the curtain into her life offstage during the tour.
To bring fans even further backstage with the new album, Swift has also announced that an eighty-nine-minute film will have a limited run to accompany the record’s release. The Official Release Party of a Showgirl will run from October 3 to 5 and will include the exclusive world premiere of the “The Fate of Ophelia” music video, Swift’s never-before-seen personal reflections on songs from her twelfth studio album, behind-the-scenes footage from the music video shoot, and brand-new lyric videos, according to a press release from AMC Theatres. This will be the second time Swift has brought her fans to movie theaters after the concert film Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour became the highest-grossing concert film of all time.
In Tacoma, fans can lean into the vintage sparkle of the Life of a Showgirl aesthetic by experiencing The Official Release Party of a Showgirl at the oldest continuously operating theater in Washington State—the Blue Mouse Theatre. The theater is nearing its 102nd birthday and features brand new seating, “craftsmen staircases, chandeliers, an ornate trellis around the proscenium arch, decorated capitals atop side wall columns, and Tiffany-style glass exit signs,” according to its website. For fans who prefer a more modern “era,” a list of all screenings can be found at releasepartyofashowgirl.com.
Local options include:
- Regal Lakewood, 2410 S. 84th Street, Lakewood
- AMC Lakewood Mall 12, 5721 Main Street S.W., Lakewood
- Cinemark Century Point Ruston and XD, 5057 Main Street, Tacoma
- Regal South Hill Cinema, 3500 S. Meridian, Puyallup
- Regal Longston Place, 13317 Meridian Street E., Puyallup
- Galaxy Gig Harbor, 4649 Point Fosdick Drive N.W., Gig Harbor
If crafts and community are more your style, local Swifties can head to Crafty AF for an album-release party featuring specialty nonalcoholic drinks, themed games, craft projects, karaoke, and more. Hosted by Crafty AF and Sober AF, the party will begin at 5:00 p.m. on October 3 at 5222 South Tacoma Way in Tacoma. Tickets are $40 and can be purchased at craftyafstudio.com.
The craft project will be a Showgirl-themed bookshelf, and the hosts will provide trinkets, album covers, and paint. The organizers encourage participants to “get glammed up—this is show business, after all. Don’t miss out on a night full of sparkle, music, and fun!” While at the workshop, participants can also browse the unique handmade products sold by Crafty AF and created by more than fifty local makers.
To keep the love for Taylor Swift going in Tacoma, McMenamins Elks Temple Hotel will host a tribute show on Saturday, December 13, in its Spanish Ballroom venue, performed by the local group Swiftified. In the words of Taylor herself, “Dancing is optional but very much encouraged.”
