The Beths with Squirrel Flower and Phoebe Rings
The Salt Shed
Chicago, Illinois
November 23rd, 2025
Chicago LOVES The Beths. From two sold out nights at Thalia Hall the last time they toured through Chicago to an appearance at Beach Bunny’s first annual Pool Party Festival the following summer, the Midwest’s most populated city has shown up for the New Zealand four piece with pride.
The Beths have played some big shows, notably doing three nights at The Greek Theatre opening up for Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service in 2023 – But currently touring on their newest record Straight Line Was a Lie, the band is headlining some of their biggest shows to date.
But a few days before they played Chicago, the band posted on their Instagram story declaring that their upcoming Chicago show wo
uld be their “biggest EVER headline show.” They were down to a small number of tickets left for their night at The Salt Shed whose capacity surpasses 3,500 people. When all was said and done, there were exactly 6 unsold tickets – So while technically not being sold out, one might say it was close enough to celebrate their sweeping audience as such. By that Sunday evening, the venue was packed and their biggest headline show to date went off without a hitch.
Fellow New Zealanders Phoebe Rings have been supporting The Beths on this tour and opened up the show with their airy dream-pop tracks. Their setlist included a handful of songs off their debut album, Aseurai as well as their cover of Beach House’s “Devotion.”
Acclaimed Chicago based artist, Squirrel Flower (aka Ella Williams) was included on this lineup as direct support for the evening. The last time The Beths played Chicago, Squirrel Flower was also on the bill, so fans were thrilled to see the bands reunite. Squirrel Flower’s performance demanded silence in the room as they filled it with reverb and slow but intense numbers. Their music bursts with anticipation, chords ringing out and Williams’ powerful voice vibrating through vulnerable lyrics.
Fitting to precede The Beths’ performance, anticipation maximized during the last changeover as crew members set the stage for the main event. Fans couldn’t wait to hear songs from Straight Line Was a Lie for the first time and the crowd buzzed with excitement.
At 9:45, The Beths hit the ground running with the title track of the new album – A delightful singalong setting the overarching theme of the record: Healing is not linear. They played the majority of their new songs, weaving favorites from their first three records into the set.
Their indie power-pop catalog made it impossible to stand still in the jam packed venue. Every
where you looked there were smiling faces, with the occasional tear shed like during frontwoman Liz Stokes’ solo performance of “Mother, Pray for Me” – One of the album’s singles, lead by looped acoustic fingerpicking and verse after verse about Stokes’ relationship with her mother.
Honest, vast, and brave, The Beths’ music makes an impact on many. The snowballing size of their fanbase is no surprise, and while they’ve been at it over 10 years and are touring on their 4th LP, there is a feeling that they are just getting started.
