The Beths are currently rolling through the American South, bringing their first By-Request Tour to packed clubs and festival crowds. Normally when The Beths tour, their bassist Benjamin Sinclair keeps fans updated about the highs and lows of touring life, and local eateries, through his Breakfast and Travel Updates blog. But as of early October, Ben hasn’t been able to regularly update the blog, for unknown reasons. (It’s safe to say that the blog is not going away, as every night the band blows up its on-stage fish, now adorned with a sash listing the blog’s URL).
But the By-Request Tour continues, and we live in a world addicted to the steady stream of information, so I am here to help fill the gap until Ben can re-connect to the internet again. Welcome to a one-off edition of Bethtracks and Travel Updates! (for the 4 shows I’ve been able to see).
Day 6: Harrisburg, PA - XL LIVE [9/24/2026] [final Harrisburg, PA setlist]
Technically, the By-Request Tour started with 2 “test” shows in Auckland a week before, so the band’s first ever visit to the Pennsylvania capital was the 2nd By-Request Show on US soil, and 3rd show overall. See there was a muddy festival show at Chicago’s Riot Fest that wasn’t a request show…so…whatever (yea, whatever!).
If you don’t feel instinctive excitement for US geography and political jurisdictions, you might not know that Harrisburg, and not Philadelphia (or even Pittsburgh), is the capital city of the Commonwealth (not State) of Pennsylvania. But trust me, there’s very little interesting about Harrisburg, located basically in southern central Pennsylvania, a few hours from where life happens.
So I had a few hours during my drive on US Interstate 76 to think about how the band would manage these all-requests shows. Would it be 90 minutes of fans screaming out their favorites? Would they set up some request system based on immutable characteristics like height or eye color? Would there be a secret list of songs they would play, and songs they would not? While driving and pondering, I ate my version of Benjamin’s daily breakfast posts: Sour Patch Kids Watermelon chews.
Anyone who knows The Beths knows that they love to have fun and are very creative, and they nailed both. The By-Request Tour is an interactive show that focuses on giving the fans what they want (their favorite songs), but also giving the band time to learn a little bit about its audience, and their quirks.
So, aside from 1 song from the band’s first EP (written by their drummer at the time, who’s since left the band), there are no requests “off limits”, unless, as singer/guitarist/primary songwriter Liz Stokes mentions early on at each show, “they don’t want to.” Between recorded albums songs, “b-sides” and non-album tracks, demos, and even covers they’ve played only live 1 time, there are 60 songs they might play.
Notebook of potential songs to be played, kept at Liz Stokes feet during the show.
The band clearly gave a lot of thought to make this as fun for fans as possible. When you enter the doors, you are greeted with a box listing two potential opening songs, and given bottle caps to vote for your preference. You can also take the opportunity to write your request on a piece of paper, to be hurled at the band later in the show.
When showtime comes, a Human Pineapple comes on stage and writes the opening song winner down on the blackboard, and then welcomes the band to the stage by triggering pre-recorded Casio-pop renditions of the band’s songs. Pineapple will return throughout the show to help collect the requests and keep the set list updated on the blackboard. (Pineapple is “played” by Annabel Kean, who, along with Callum Devlin, make up the Sports Team production company, and have produced/directed many of The Beths’ videos. Callum and Annabel are credited by the band as helping develop and run this tour concept).
After the opener, the band move to the first part of the requesting process. Donning their safety glasses, the band asks fans to throw their paper airplanes/balls/engineered creations to the stage, and the band take turns picking and reading one. A Harrisburg fan requests Little Death, which happens to be the “Song of the Day” (hidden on the back of the blackboard), winning a small prize for themselves, and small candy hurled into the rest of the audience.
Benjamin, practicing Safe Bass.
Benjamin, impressed by the creative engineering of the Beths audience
The charm of the tour format is evident immediately, as it allows the band to interact with the fans in way that breaks down the natural on-stage off-stage separation of a music concert. One couple in Harrisburg brings a sign saying that they were married that day, and requesting Roundabout. One fan requests for Ark of the Covenant, a metaphor-rich song alluding to the Raiders of the Lost Ark movie, because he wanted to be Indiana Jones growing up. One song request leads to Jonathan Pearce, guitarist and primary producer, on stage, calling his mother and father across the world, for help.
Day 7: Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg [9/25/2026] [final Brooklyn, NY setlist]
If the drive to Harrisburg is a mind-numbing straight shot through empty Pennsylvania fields, the drive to Brooklyn, NY is an overload of industrialization. Driving north on Route 95/NJ Turnpike takes you past energy plants, oil storage tankers, and the odd smells that can only be described as “New Jersey in the shadow of NYC.” Staten Island is passed through, and left behind. Today’s driving “breakfast”: Snyder’s of Hanover’s Mini Pretzels.
The Beths have a long history at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, and for good reason. It’s a compact and intimate venue for it’s capacity, with outstanding sound. (Unfortunately, this show will be the last, as the venue is closing at year end, likely to be replaced by a high-end clothing boutique. The gentrification that makes Williamsburg so alluring comes at a price).
The second portion of the show’s format is called Fishing for Requests, and involves a stuffed fish being tossed from fan to fan. The lucky fishcatcher speaks their request into the microphone hidden into the fish’s mouth. Somehow Liz is challenged to do one single push-up, which she performs to perfection. The crowd in Brooklyn also requests the first cover song of the tour: Starsign (an Over the Atlantic song from an old Carpark Records compilation). Its a song they’ve never played live before, but you’d never know it.
Pineapple, Fishing for Requests
Day 8: Hudson, NY - Basilica Hudson [9/26/2026] [final Hudson, NY setlist]
The Basilica Hudson sits near the Hudson River, about 2 hours north of New York City. It’s a beautiful drive, on a beautiful early autumn day, to a beautiful part of the country, for a concert at a beautiful venue. Basilica Hudson is a big open space, with a high pointed arch ceiling, and broad windows behind the stage. Today’s driving “breakfast”: Trolli Sour Brite Crawlers.
The third section of the request program is…Tombola Time! Pineapple carries out a bingo ball spinner, filled with colorful balls, each marked with a different fact or interesting attribute. (Tombola an Italian version of bingo). One ball asks for a request from a nepobaby. One ball asks for a request from a “Bald”. One balls asks for a request from a taxidermist. One ball asks for a request from an “expert in a dying field” (the requestor is a librarian…who asks for…you guessed it…Expert In A Dying Field). I even get to make a Tombola request at the Brooklyn show (for having seen the most Beths concerts).
Everything about the tour is thoughtful and engaging, and the Tombola is my highest highlight. Where else do you get to see a band, in real time, find out random and interesting things about its most devoted fans? The balls themselves do not appear to be re-used - so each spin should give a totally unique outcome at every show.
Tristan spinning the Tombola
Day 9: Sayreville, NJ - Starlight Ballroom [9/27/2026] [final Sayreville, NJ setlist]
My last show of the week is the closest to home. Sayreville NJ is an hour from New York City, and portions of it were originally called Roundabout due to its location near local rivers. Unfortunately, the song Roundabout was not requested at that night’s show. Today’s driving “breakfast”: Candy Kittens Wild Strawberry gummies.
In another example of the care taken by the band to make each show unique, drummer Tristan Deck draws a different doodle on his bass drum every show. In Sayreville, the drawing of pancakes is a nod to a running joke (?) at the Starland Ballroom, where the crowd cheers whenever an ad for the local IHOP is played on screen.
For all The Beths shows I’ve seen, the Starland Ballroom is a special one. I was there with family, including my niece, who is getting married this weekend. Jump Rope Gazers is their wedding song. I folded my paper airplane request to into a simple origami fish, and wrote on it that my request was "Whatever my niece wants to hear". I was up near the front, where I usually try to stand anyway, and I managed to toss it right to Benjamin’s feet. He first grabbed a nicely made paper airplane from someone else, but then he noticed mine up too. He originally thought it was some other type of plane, but Liz correctly saw that is fish, so Benjamin goes with it and reads out my niece’s name. It was so fun to see her surprise when Ben asks if she’s there, and a joy to get to hear her tell the band about the wedding and their favorite song.
There was another fun twist to the crowd participation that night, as one fan brought her own homemade game for the band to play! Also called “Fishing for Requests” (what are the odds???), she had a poster with three letters on it, and the band got to choose which letter to open, with different song requests behind each. The letter they choose led to a request for Less Than Thou, during which Jonathan ripped an extra hot guitar solo.
And it was also a special show for Pineapple, since it was her birthday! Callum brought out a cake with a homemade carboard birthday card, and she got to make a request.
I drove approximately 925 miles to see these shows, and after the last show I seriously considered taking time off to see more. The Beths have always been a band that showed appreciation and respect for its fans, but the By-Request Tour might be the perfect example of how they do that, and at the perfect time in their career. 4 albums, 1 EP, and 60 songs into their career, playing venues that are large enough to bring in variability in fans and requests, but small enough for the band to still interact with fans on a personal level.
The detail and creativity shown in developing the show format, the merch, and the entire show is one of a kind. One of merch items for this tour is a t-shirt with a blank set list on the back, and the band has fabric markers around for people to write their set list on their shirt! They really thought of every way to make this tour memorable and unique.
I don’t know if The Beths will ever do this format again. Every show is a single, one-of-a-kind experience. 60 possible songs gives you so something like 8.32099E+81 possible set lists, a number I don’t know how to even read. It has to be a little mentally taxing for the band, even if they seem to be having a lot of fun. So, if you’re west of the Mississippi, go see one of the remaining shows.
I’m keeping a Track Tracker of the songs played, and the types of request made (where possible). As of 10/7, they’ve played 48 of 60 possible songs, and 44 of 45 album tracks (poor I Want To Listen). Videos of many of these moments can be found here, and in The Beths discord.
All credit is due to the band, Pineapple Annabel, Callum, their tour manager Annie, and their sound tech Gabe, for a truly memorable experience.