Canadian singer Shannon Beresford, 32, performs as a Taylor Swift tribute act. Photo / Taylor's Story
Canadian singer Shannon Beresford, 32, performs as a Taylor Swift tribute act. Photo / Taylor's Story
What’s it like to impersonate the biggest pop star in the world? Before travelling to New Zealand with her Taylor Swift tribute act Taylor’s Story, Canadian artist Shannon Beresford tells the Herald how she ended up performing the artist’s biggest hits on stage.
Tribute acts have been around for decades, from Elvis impersonators to homages to Oasis, Fleetwood Mac, Abba and more.
In 2025, there are multiple tribute acts to artists or bands who are still alive and still performing, such as pop superstars Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift.
One of those is 32-year-old Canadian musician Shannon Beresford, who has been performing as Swift with her tribute act Taylor’s Story for more than a year – and is soon to take the stage in New Zealand.
“I’ve been singing and songwriting most of my life,” Beresford tells the Herald from her home in Aurora, north of Toronto.
She has a degree in forensic psychology – “Criminal Minds stuff” – but pursued music instead, having performed in the band The Beresfords alongside her brother Brendan for a decade.
“Through that we know a lot of people in the music industry, especially over here... it’s like an incestual pool of just like, everyone knows everyone,” she jokes.
Blonde, blue-eyed and close in age to the pop star, who is 35, Beresford was first approached about becoming a Taylor Swift tribute act in November 2023.
“I sat on the fence about it for a long time... for so much of my life, I [was] not necessarily compared, but definitely put in the same category as her, and I was really unsure if this was a good idea or not.
“I was like, is this career suicide if I go and do exactly what people are automatically pinning me as?”
Beresford then realised she had “nothing to lose” by giving it a go. “So I just said yes – and honestly, it’s been a really fun experience.”
For the artist, performing a tribute show is akin to being an actor playing a role.
“The part that’s different is that I’m playing somebody that’s still alive and actually exists in this world, and has a career and is doing their thing,” she says.
“But it is kind of fun because for that moment in time, for that 90 minutes, I get to perform songs that I really enjoy performing and I get to challenge myself with those songs.”
While some aspects come naturally – Beresford says she and Swift have similar mannerisms – it can be difficult to get the audience to suspend belief for that hour and a half.
Taylor Swift performs in Toronto, Canada, as part of her the record-breaking Eras Tour. Photo / Getty Images
“People don’t necessarily take you seriously at first. We’ve had some amazing crowds where it’s like, right off the hop they’re screaming and they’re so into it, and everyone’s having the best time,” she says.
“And then there’s some shows where you’ve got to warm them up. You’ve got to get three or four songs in for them to be convinced that this is a professional production.
“I’ve had some kids yell at me, ‘you’re fake!’ – but by the end of the show they’re not not convinced that maybe Taylor herself actually came and just did a show and left. It’s kind of fun playing with people’s thoughts that way."
Offstage, Beresford says she occasionally gets stopped in public – including once at a Toronto Blue Jays baseball game.
“I had my bangs down – I didn’t have red lipstick on or eyeliner or anything, I was wearing a Blue Jays cap – but I got stopped even by the security guards to take photos of me. They were like, ‘You look like Taylor’, and I was like, ‘Yeah, well, I do a Taylor tribute, here’s our info’. Yeah, it is weird.”
Embodying Swift on stage has given her a taste of what it’s like to be a successful artist on tour, she says. It’s something she hopes to pursue under her own name one day.
“It’s given me the chance to build so much confidence as a performer and vocally as a singer as well. I don’t want to lose this anytime soon, but I definitely want to get back to writing some more songs and putting original stuff out in the near future.
“Sometimes I feel like Hannah Montana,” she laughs.
There’s also a downside to impersonating the star.
“Truthfully, Taylor and I have very different body types and she’s taller than me... you know that people are going to be looking at you and probably picking you apart.
Shannon Beresford was first approached about becoming a Taylor Swift tribute artist in November 2023. Photo / Taylor's Story / Supplied by Sandra Roberts Publicity
“I don’t think that’s ever going to go away. There’s a weird impostor syndrome and criticism that I probably hold more for myself than everyone else does against me. It’s weird, but honestly 90% of the time it’s great.”
Beresford is far from the only Taylor Swift tribute act, and reveals the pop star’s management has been in touch to ensure everything is legal and above board.
“They were like, ‘keep doing what you’re doing, cool stuff – but just put a disclaimer on everything that you’re actually not with Taylor’. I don’t know if she herself has seen it or knows that I exist... but I’m sure she realises the impact that her music has had on pretty much the entire world at this point.”
Beresford notes that countless fans wouldn’t have had the opportunity to see the record-breaking global Eras Tour, with the high cost of tickets and travel, and hopes she can help fill that gap.
“There’s a lot of people that just couldn’t get to see her or couldn’t afford to see her, and I’m sure that she’s completely cool with people just having a time and listening to her, whether it’s her doing it or someone else.”
It’s partly why she’s “so excited” to be bringing the shows to Aotearoa.
“It’s going to be our first international tour, and I’m excited to bring it to another part of the world – especially because Taylor didn’t come to see you guys.”
She hopes Kiwi Swifties will feel as if they got a taste of the Eras Tour from her shows.
“We’ll never fully attain what she did, but what I love about our show is that we’re going in chronological order, so we’re starting at Debut and we’re going all the way through to Midnights.”
Beresford’s setlist will include the biggest hits from each album, promising moments of nostalgia for fans who have followed Swift from her early days.
“I think with the craziness of the world, I just like to go back to things that make me feel cosy and remind me of when times were a little bit less chaotic and easier,” she reflects.
