The Beths Announce Straight Line Was A Lie New Zealand Tour

Globetrotting local four piece, The Beths, are thrilled to announce their return home; playing seven shows throughout Aotearoa next March in celebration of their recently released fourth album, Straight Line Was A Lie.

Released in August this year, Straight Line Was A Lie is their first album released via American label ANTI-, debuting at #1 on the Aotearoa Album Chart and receiving glowing reviews from press around the world.

Last night, The Beths made their late night television debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live! performing Straight Line Was A Lie’s standout opening title track, praised by Stereogum as a “total slam dunk of an opener.”

Watch The Beths perform “Straight Line Was A Lie” on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

The performance is a taste of what to expect on the band’s homecoming tour, which kicks off at Meow Nui in Wellington with two nights on Friday 13 and Saturday 14 of March 2026. The band then head south to Dunedin, playing Glenroy Auditorium on Friday 20 March, James Hay in Christchurch on Sunday 22 March and Theatre Royal in Nelson on Monday 23 March. The tour wraps up with two shows at the iconic Powerstation in Auckland on Thursday 26 and Friday 27 March.  Tickets for all shows go on presale Monday 3 November at 8am and general sale Wednesday 5 November at 8am NZDT. Laylo link

These shows follow three solid months of touring the world, which kicked off last month in Europe and the UK. The North American leg begins this week and includes some of their biggest venues to date in the U.S. and Canada, including The Wiltern in Los Angeles, The Fillmore in San Francisco, The Salt Shed in Chicago, Brooklyn Paramount in New York City, Union Transfer in Philadelphia, 9:30 Club in Washington, DC and more. Following their New Zealand dates, the band head to Australia where they play their biggest Australian headline shows thus far.

The path from The Beths’ critically celebrated and year-end-list-topping 2022 album Expert In A Dying Field to Straight Line Was A Lie was anything but straightforward. For the first time, Stokes was struggling to write new songs beyond fragments she’d recorded on her phone. She’d recently started taking an SSRI, which on one hand made her feel like she could “fix” everything broken in her life, from her mental and physical health to fraught family dynamics. At the same time, writing wasn’t coming as easily as it had before.

With Straight Line Was A Lie, Stokes broke down the typical Beths writing process, opening themselves up to a wave of creative input, with Stokes’ free-flowing writing routine proving to be therapeutic. Already a celebrated lyricist, Stokes has long impressed fans and critics with catchy, instant-classic turns of phrase that capture the personal and ladder up to the universal. But Stokes’ intentional deconstruction and rebuilding of her relationship to writing, however, has resulted in a complete renewal. Her songwriting has achieved startling new depths of insight and vulnerability, making Straight Line Was A Lie the most sharply observant, truthful, and poetic Beths project to date.

THE BETHS
Aotearoa New Zealand Tour – March 2026

FRI 13 & SAT 14 MAR
Meow Nui | Wellington
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FRI 20 MAR
Glenroy Auditorium | Dunedin
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SUN 22 MAR
James Hay | Christchurch
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MON 23 MAR
Theatre Royal | Nelson
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THU 26 & FRI 27 MAR
Powerstation | Auckland
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Australia Tour – April 2026
Fri. 17 Apr. – Adelaide, SA @ The Gov
Sat. 18 Apr. – Perth, WA @ Astor Theatre
Thu. 23 Apr. – Brisbane, QLD @ The Tivoli
Fri. 25 Apr. – Sydney, NSW @ The Roundhouse
Sat. 26 Apr. – Melbourne, VIC @ Forum Theatre

For a full list of tour dates visit thebeths.com

Praise for The Beths and Straight Line Was A Lie

“[The Beths] split the difference between massive radio friendly anthems and songs that are slower and more reflective but that still manage to convey just as much electricity and energy…”  — NPR Music

“On the Auckland indie rockers’ most incisive album, bulletproof hooks cloak gnarly emotional realities and cheerfulness always comes tinged with a creeping sadness.” — Pitchfork

“Few indie rock bands are working at The Beths’ level when it comes to sparkling, nuanced guitar pop.”  — Brooklyn Vegan

“[Liz Stokes] sings with humble honesty.” – The New York Times, on “Mother, Pray For Me”

“With clever hooks and sharp vocals, [Elizabeth Stokes’] sweet melodies are tethered by creative partner and fellow guitarist Jonathan Pierce’s crunchy melody lines, along with driving bass lines and stacked vocals from bandmates Benjamin Sinclair and Tristan Deck.” – Rolling Stone

“…a more insightful, introspective album than anything the band has released in the past—though Stokes’ clever lyrics are still front and center.” – A.V. Club

“The Auckland band’s fourth album elevates its usual parts—catchy riffs, sing-along choruses, earnest ballads, ebullient rockers, and Elizabeth Stokes’ lovely, evocative lyricism—with a newfound maturity and expansiveness.” – Paste

“…a cementing of their status as one of the most consistent bands in indie rock.” – The Needle Drop

“Straight Line Was a Lie is, in typical Beths fashion, dependably catchy and sweetly harmonic.”  – All Music

“The tight, punchy instrumentation and production make Straight Line Was A Lie an absolute earworm and some of the best music yet from a band that’s been delivering consistently solid music their entire career.” – Iowa Public Radio

“The Beths are making some righteous renovations without forsaking the foundation they built their house on.” – Qobuz

“Stokes’s songs have always been witty and self-aware, personal but relatable, and the lyrics on Straight Line Was a Lie offer even deeper, more vulnerable insights into her psyche.” – Slant

“The Beths’ Straight Line Was a Lie is full of catchy hooks, big guitar riffs, and often introspective lyrics. The New Zealand quartet are at the top of their game.” – PopMatters

Purchase/Stream Straight Line Was A Lie

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