Current:Home > ContactTaylor Swift gives Eras Tour truck drivers $100,000 bonuses, handwritten letters of appreciation -AssetTrainer
Taylor Swift gives Eras Tour truck drivers $100,000 bonuses, handwritten letters of appreciation
View
Date:2025-04-14 06:59:52
There's no bad blood between Taylor Swift and the people driving the trucks carrying the equipment for her tour: Swift recently gifted every driver a $100,000 bonus.
Swift gave drivers the bonus ahead of finishing the U.S. leg of her The Eras Tour, which has been touring the country since March.
Two companies, Upstaging Inc. and Shomotion LLC, are in charge of transporting Swift's equipment for the tour, including the stage, lights, guitars, microphones, speakers and more.
Mike Scherkenbach, the CEO of Shomotion, told USA TODAY that the drivers were called into a production meeting where they assumed the topic of conversation would be the tour schedule. The last shows of the U.S. leg of the tour are coming up, with Swift performing in Los Angeles over the next week before heading to Mexico at the end of the month.
More on the tour:Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour surprise songs plus what she sang with Haim
Instead, the drivers were surprised by Swift's father, Scott Swift.
'A life-changing sum'
"Scott gave a short speech and said how much he appreciated the service and what they've done for the tour for the last 24 weeks," Scherkenbach said. "They've been out there nonstop, the men and women that drive for us have been away from their families for 24 weeks."
Then, each driver was given a letter that the singer had handwritten and addressed to the individual thanking them for their service during the tour. The amount of the bonus was included at the bottom of the letter, but some drivers didn't pay it much attention, Scherkenbach said.
"The funny part is, they just glanced at the letter quickly and didn't look at the amount, so one driver read it as $1,000, another driver read it as $10,000. And then another driver said, 'Oh, this has to be a joke. $100,000?' which then made the other ones reopen their letters," he said.
While Scherkenbach said he could not disclose the exact number of truck drivers or trucks that were included in the bonuses for safety reasons, the money is greatly appreciated by everyone involved.
"It's a life-changing sum of money for somebody to be able to become a homeowner and for drivers that have children are starting at the age that they're going off to college. It's a game changer," he said.
The Swift quake:Taylor Swift's Seattle concert caused the ground to shake like a small earthquake
He added that it's a group effort to get a production like Swift's tour up and running every weekend in spots across the country.
"It's a small city that moves all different disciplines from lighting technicians and video technicians and guitar technicians, all these little disciplines that come together to create this massive production, down to the chefs and catering and pastry chefs and it's no small feat what goes into putting out a production of this magnitude," he said.
As the show moves toward the end of its run in the U.S., Scherkenbach said his team is looking forward to the future. The company will continue to move Swift's equipment while she is performing in Mexico, with dates in Mexico City on Aug. 24, 25, 26 and 27.
"We never expected our staff to receive any bonus of this [magnitude]. We were just grateful to be part of what we think will be a record-breaking tour on all fronts," Scherkenbach said. "We've only been to North America. It's now heading into Mexico, and then South America and Europe, so this is just the start."
Upstaging, Inc. and Swift's representatives did not respond immediately to USA TODAY's request for comment.
Post-concert blues:What post-concert sadness means for people with depression and the healthy ways to cope
veryGood! (65266)
Related
- Arkansas State Police probe death of woman found after officer
- White House Looks to Safeguard Groundwater Supplies as Aquifers Decline Nationwide
- Ice Spice Details Hysterically Crying After Learning of Taylor Swift's Karma Collab Offer
- Ice Spice Details Hysterically Crying After Learning of Taylor Swift's Karma Collab Offer
- Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
- Small stocks are about to take over? Wall Street has heard that before.
- A woman is killed and a man is injured when their upstate New York house explodes
- Workers link US, Canadian sides of new Gordie Howe International Bridge over Detroit River
- Sonya Massey's father decries possible release of former deputy charged with her death
- 10 to watch: USWNT star Naomi Girma represents best of America, on and off field
Ranking
- Former Syrian official arrested in California who oversaw prison charged with torture
- Cucumber recall for listeria risk grows to other veggies in more states and stores
- 2024 Olympics: Team USA’s Stars Share How They Prepare for Their Gold Medal-Worthy Performances
- USWNT starting XI vs. Zambia: Emma Hayes' first lineup for 2024 Paris Olympics
- How to watch the 'Blue Bloods' Season 14 finale: Final episode premiere date, cast
- Taylor Swift Reveals She's the Godmother of Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds' Kids
- Maine attorney general files complaint against couple for racist harassment of neighbors
- American surfer Carissa Moore knows Tahiti’s ‘scary’ Olympic wave. Here’s how she prepared
Recommendation
McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
Bill Belichick's absence from NFL coaching sidelines looms large – but maybe not for long
American surfer Carissa Moore knows Tahiti’s ‘scary’ Olympic wave. Here’s how she prepared
Steph Curry talks Kamala Harris' US presidential campaign: 'It's a big deal'
Trump's 'stop
CrowdStrike shares details on cause of global tech outage
Home goods retailer Conn's files for bankruptcy, plans to close at least 70 stores
Morial urges National Urban League allies to shore up DEI policies and destroy Project 2025