Former music honcho had to ‘beg’ employees to watch Taylor Swift perform before she became a superstar
Werde, director of the Bandier Music Program at Syracuse University, says Swift “played this corny little cafeteria with bad lighting and no acoustics like it was [Madison Square Garden].”Getty Images
He explains those in attendance were “12 cranky journalists who all wanted to get back to deadline.”
Despite not having become a household name yet, Swift belted out “Picture to Burn” for the small audience.
In true Swift fashion, the singer-songwriter opened with, “Before I play this next song, I want you all to know that I really do try to be a nice person.
“But if you break my heart or hurt my feelings or make me feel really bad or are really mean to me, I’m gonna write a song about you,” she added.
The Grammy Award winner wore her blond hair in long soft curls with a strapless knee-length white dress and tan leather cowboy boots.
Werde tells Page Six, “We were only recording [Swift singing] because our boss at the time insisted that we record any artist that stopped by. This was still the early days of video.”
Now, 14 years later, she just wrapped up her record-breaking Eras Tour days before her 35th birthday.
