New Zealands The Beths bringing smorgasbord of music to Grog Shop next week – cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio While bands in the United States were forced to perform virtual shows or refrain from live performances altogether in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, it was a different scene in New Zealand.

Thanks to the countrys famously strict lockdowns early-on in the diseases spread, bands were able to play out when the rest of the music world hit pause and indie-rock standout The Beths was one of them. The band, named after singer-guitarist Elizabeth Stokes, went on a tour in late 2020, performed at Christmastime festivals in its home country and even released a live album, Auckland, New Zealand, 2020, from one of the shows.

We were pretty lucky for a long time, Stokes said. Omicron caught up in late 2021, so New Zealand is in a similar boat to the rest of the world now. Luckily, the vaccination rate is very high.

Just this month, New Zealand finally fully opened its borders for the first time since 2020 but The Beths have already been traveling around the world, supporting its 2020 album Jump Rope Gazers and its upcoming album Expert in a Dying Field.

The bands tour is set to reach the Grog Shop for a show on Thursday, Aug. 11, with support from Rosie Tucker. Tickets, $10-$20 are still available to the concert on Grog Shops website.

The new tunes were flavored by the pandemic, but Stokes doesnt call Expert in a Dying Field a pandemic album. Here, expect the bands consistent upbeat approach to indie-rock fitting for energizing live shows.

It would be difficult not to have the last couple of years leak into whatever art you make. Even if you specifically were avoiding it, it would still affect the way people listening to it would experience it. So definitely its there, Stokes said. What we knew we wanted was an album that we could picture playing live, touring and really having fun with. We realized how important the live experience is to us.

Though some songs from Expert will be shared at the Grog Shop show, expect more of a focus on the bands earlier releases 2018s stellar Future Me Hates Me and 2020s dynamic Jump Rope Gazers.

Were conscious that this is our first show in Cleveland since 2019, so were making sure to play a good selection from the last album too, and plenty of first album faves, Stokes said. It should hopefully be a well-rounded smorgasbord.

As for The Beths current tour which has brought the group around the globe in recent months the band feels right at home while on the road, especially after the past few harrowing years.

It just feels right. Its super busy and exhausting, but in the best way, Stokes said. We feel like penguins whove been on land for the last couple of years, and now were back in the sea. We just need to avoid leopard seals.

Find more information about The Beths upcoming Cleveland show at grogshop.gs.

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New Zealands The Beths bringing smorgasbord of music to Grog Shop next week - cleveland.com