November 18th, 2025
Metro Music Hall – Salt Lake City, UT
Salt Lake City is home to some of the most fun music venues for one of the best music scenes in the world. Metro Music Hall is a fantastic 21+ venue, and played host to one of New Zealand’s finest bands. The venue itself has a full bar, capacity for up to 700 people, and is perfect for a night out on the town. Once the doors opened up at 7:00 pm on November 18th, Metro Music Hall was quickly packed with fans waiting to see The Beths, touring their new album, Straight Line Was A Lie.
Opening up the night was a band called Phoebe Rings, another band hailing from Auckland, New Zealand. Describing themselves as a “dream-pop-4-piece,” according to their Spotify bio, Phoebe Rings brought a pure happy energy to the stage. The sounds that they produced went hand in hand with that happy energy with what I can only describe as bedroom pop meeting jazz music. It felt like a daydream listening to them perform, and their presence on stage was just so groovy.
After getting through a few songs, the lead singer of the band, Crystal Choi, would go on to talk about how much she was loving visiting Utah, calling Salt Lake a “scenic city.” The band also talked about how they went and visited the Clark Planetarium, which would be a theme later on in the night with our headliner. Crystal went on to introduce songs they would be performing as tracks from their latest album, Aseurai, which released in June earlier this year. The band’s charisma was contagious, and every single person in the venue was moving to the music as Phoebe Rings finished out their set.
Phoebe Rings was such a perfect opener for the night, and after getting to listen to their latest album, I am very excited to see them play here in Utah again. I would love to see them bring their funky sounds and happy energy to stages like Kilby Court or even Soundwell, two venues that could really bring out a crowd with an energy that this band deserves.
Now that the crowd was warmed up, it was time for The Beths to take the stage. As they were getting set up on stage, I noticed that the crew was actually just each band member setting up their own equipment in an incognito tech-crew disguise, which was a fun little easter egg for those who were paying attention. Not long after, The Beths took the stage, opening up their set strong with the title track of their latest album, Straight Line Was A Lie. The instant hype from the crowd was an early indicator that this show was going to be a fun one.
The Beths have one of my favorite live sounds that I have ever heard. The lead vocals from Elizabeth Stokes are enough on its own to make the listeners feel each note in their hearts, but it’s the added vocals from every other member of the band harmonizing that has the listeners feeling the lyrics in their souls. Combined with the sounds of lead guitar melodies from Jonathan Pearce, the technical beats from drummer Tristan Deck, and the thumping rhythm of bass from Benjamin Sinclair, The Beths have a very sweet live sound.
Throughout the night there were only a couple of segments where the band addressed the crowd. I love how they introduce the band to the crowd, with each member of the band taking turns introducing another member, and it was during this part of the show that they talked about their time in Utah. From going to dinner at Red Iguana, to visiting the Clark Planetarium and learning about the Foucault Pendulum, it was a fun little sentiment to the fans here in Utah.
Making their way through their show, the night was an emotional rollercoaster. They played all but one song from their newest album, and had a great mix of fan favorites in the setlist as well. At one point, Elizabeth would do an emotional solo performance of their song Mother Pray For Me, which had the crowd in tears. Eventually the night would near the end, as they got the crowd jumping to their song I’m Not Getting Excited, and closing with Expert In A Dying Field. After demands for an encore, they took the stage one last time to perform their song Take.
Having seen The Beths twice before, I can still confidently say that their live performance is something that needs to be seen. It is a show that I will never miss if I can help it. I would love to see them on a future Kilby Block Party lineup, as I think they would fit right in with a killer set for that festival. After their performance at Metro Music Hall, it left me excited to see what they do next, and excited to see them playing to bigger and better crowds.
Photos and Review by Sam Howard
Sound Script 
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