Beth McCarthy – DREAM TOUR

In this Dream Tour segment, the electro pop artist, Beth McCarthy, reveals who she would want on her ultimate tour lineup. You can check out their picks, after the break.

The whole reason I wanted to get into music in the first place was to perform. Playing shows is where the magic is for me and so my dream tour would be with people who share in that and would create an amazing experience for the audience.

First on my list is Miley Cyrus. When people ask ‘who is your biggest influence?’, she’s the one that sticks out because she was the first person in music I aspired to be like! I’ve never had the chance to see her live, but from what I’ve heard she can perform the hell out of a stage. She has a soul in her voice that you don’t hear so much these days and whether she pulled out a full set of the new album or some old Miley classics, it’d be an incredible show.

Next on my list would be HAIM. I first saw them live at Latitude Festival in 2014 and immediately fell in LOVE. The way they command a stage, switch around their instruments throughout the show, Este’s bass faces – honestly their whole live show set up is INSANE and I would be front row every single night of the tour! They seem like such fun people too. Ever since that video of them at the Brit Awards where Este (the bass player) was flirting with the camera it’s been a life goal to have a night out with them.

Touring is amazing but it can be long and sometimes lonely so it’s super important to have people around who you can laugh with and who make the whole experience enjoyable, not just the part on stage.

Finally, if we’re going with the ‘dead or alive’ thing, it would HAVE to be Freddie Mercury with Queen. They are my all-time favourite band (you can thank my dad for that one) and I’m heartbroken that I never got to see them live with Freddie. He was everything a performer should be and more and I’ve been inspired by him ever since I was little! I actually have a tattoo of his handwriting on my arm – it says ‘carry on carry on’ (ref Bohemian Rhapsody) and whenever I’m going through something in music, whether it be that I’m struggling with the business side of what I do, or I’m experiencing some self-doubt, or I’m nervous before a show I look at that tattoo and I think ‘what would Freddie do?’ SO CHEESY RIGHT? But he was so bold and headstrong, he knew who he was and he fully believed in himself and his abilities and that truly inspires me every day.

And of course, his confidence, his vocal ability, his overall presence on stage was impeccable, but the big thing I’ve always been completely in awe of was his ability to connect with an audience. We’ve all seen the iconic vocal call and response at Wembley (‘AY-OH!’) – how incredible is it that he captivated a crowd of 70,000 people and got them to sing that back to him? It was Freddie’s show, but he made them a part of it and I think that’s so special and something I always aspire to do with my live performances. If it wasn’t for the crowd, I’d be singing my songs to an empty room, right? The fans are what make a tour and so connecting with them is truly the most important part of it for me.

So to summarise: Miley Cyrus for the 11-year-old me who wanted to be her (and 23 year old me who still does tbh), HAIM for the performance and the laughs and Queen with Freddie Mercury because not only would it be an honour to share a stage with them, but I would learn so much. Above all else though, my dream tour is really just to play in front of people who connect with my songs.

Keep up with her on Instagram and TikTok.