Since arriving with their sizzling, power-pop-infused brand of rock music in the mid-2010s, New Zealander group The Beths have been harnessing the raw energy of their music for compelling and electric live performances. Today (Aug. 10), on the three-year anniversary of the release of their debut album Future Me Hates Me and following 2020’s Jump Rope Gazers, the band have announced a new live album and an accompanying film titled Auckland, New Zealand, 2020, out Sept. 17 on Carpark Records.
Recorded at the Auckland Town Hall, the show is notable for being one of the few any major rock band was able to perform mid-pandemic, due to the anti-COVID measures New Zealand adopted early on. As such, the group’s performance teems with life and the excitement to be gathered in a space with fans during such a dark period. Deliberately choosing the name of the album/film in reference to that fact, Jonathan Pearce comments, “That’s the sensational part of what we did,” and says playing to the sold-out hometown crowd “felt miraculous.” The idea for Auckland, New Zealand, 2020 came from the desire to share the good fortune they had playing shows with the rest of the music-less world.
Other hobbies The Beths partook in during the pandemic included taking over the Paste Instagram to share their favorite pie recipes, as well as starting up their own Patreon page.
Delta variant permitting, The Beths will embark on a headlining North American tour in 2022. “Our last North American tour was in summer of 2019, which feels like a century ago. There is no way to describe how much we have wanted to be over there playing music. Finally it is happening?!” says the band’s Liz Stokes. Tickets go on sale this Friday, Aug. 13, at 10 a.m. local.
Below, catch the trailer for Auckland, New Zealand, 2020 as well as their performance of Future Me Hates Me and their 2019 Paste session. You’ll find their tour dates further down, with their North American shows in bold.
The Beths Tour Dates:
September
17 – Auckland, NZ @ The Others Way
27 – Auckland, NZ @ Whammy Bar
28 – Auckland, NZ @ Whammy Bar
29 – Auckland, NZ @ Whammy Bar
30 – Auckland, NZ @ Whammy Bar
October
01 – Auckland, NZ @ Whammy Bar
02 – Auckland, NZ @ Whammy Bar
22 – Tauranga, NZ @ Tauranga Arts Festival
23 – Hawke’s Bay, NZ @ Labour of Love
November
04 – Sydney, NSW @ Factory Theatre
05 – Brisbane, QLD @ The Zoo
06 – Melbourne, VIC @ The Night Cat
December
04 – Auckland, NZ @ The Outerfields
January 2022
20 – Washington, D.C. @ Black Cat
21 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
22 – New York, NY @ Rough Trade (in-store signing)
22 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
23 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair
25 – Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz
26 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
28 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
February 2022
02 – Calgary, AB @ Commonwealth
04 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret
05 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos
06 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
08 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
10 – Los Angeles, CA @ Regent Theater
12 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar
15 – Austin, TX @ Parish
16 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada
18 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade (Hall)
19 – Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge
March 2022
27 – Southampton, UK @ The Loft
28 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
29 – Glasgow, UK @ St Luke’s
31 – Manchester, UK @ Club Academy
April 2022
01 – Bristol, UK @ SWX
02 – Birmingham, UK @ The Castle and Falcon
04 – London, UK @ O2 Forum Kentish Town
05 – Brighton, UK @ Concorde II
07 – Paris, FR @ Point Ephémère
08 – Lyon, FR @ Le Marché Gare
09 – Dudingen, CH @ Bad Bonn
10 – Lausanne, CH @ Le Romandie
12 – Milan, IT @ Biko
13 – Munich, DE @ Feierwerk
15 – Vienna, AT @ B72
16 – Prague, CZ @ Underdogs’
18 – Berlin, DE @ Lido
19 – Copenhagen, DK @ VEGA Ideal Bar
20 – Hamburg, DE @ Molotow
21 – Cologne, DE @ Bumann & Sohn
22 – Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique
23 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
24 – Esch-sur-Alzette, LU @ Kulturfabrik
