Calgary's Seraphina Ellen takes Taylor Swift tribute to Vancouver to mark Eras Tour arrival

A Calgary student's Taylor Swift tribute is taking her to Vancouver.

Seraphina Ellen, a third-year finance student at the University of Calgary, received attention online for performing Swift covers at university open mics.

She's now headlining her own concert to mark the beginning of the pop megastar's Vancouver tour dates.

What started as a fun way to overcome her nerves on stage has become a whole lot more.

She first decided to cover a Swift song at a U of C open mic more than a year ago, and after an amazing audience reaction, she became a regular at the monthly meetups.

"I thought people would just, you know, have a little laugh and then go about their day. I thought open mics were all like this. I thought everyone was coming on to be their favorite singer," Ellen said.

While Ellen has wanted to be a musician her entire life, she only took the leap after her mother passed away from cancer two years ago.

"I decided that I could be scared, or I could be scared and put myself out there and actually try to do something because everyone gets better. I might as well try and have some fun with life," she said.

Ellen has now amassed a large following online, with 85,000 followers on TikTok.

She even needs to stop for some fan selfies after she performs.

"I thought she was very brave to go up and, like, dress up as Taylor Swift. I thought she was amazing, though. She's a very good singer," one attendee said.

"I just love Taylor Swift's music, and I think it's so cool that Seraphina, like, performs her own version of it," another said.

Now, like something out of her "wildest dreams," Ellen was set to hit her largest stage yet on Friday.

She was set to perform a tribute concert in Vancouver the same night the real Swift was set to start the last leg of her Eras Tour in the city.

"It's so important that we all get together, enjoy the night, have fun, celebrate and sing the songs. Especially because those tickets are so hard to actually get," Ellen said.

"I wanted to be able to give back and party and have fun with all the people in the community."

Ellen recently put out an original single of her own.

She's also hoping to release an album soon.

As Ellen works to create her own signature style and sound, she hopes to keep growing just like her pop idol.

"I want to have fun, I want to get better, I want to improve and I'm so grateful to have an audience that lets me do that," she said.