Royal and The Serpent take over First Unitarian Church in Philadelphia on Debut Headline Tour

After bursting into the spotlight in 2020 Royal and the Serpent have finally hit the road for their first proper headline tour that included a stop at one of the most iconic punk venues in the world, The First Unitarian Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

While this is the band's first proper headline run Royal and The Serpent are no stranger to the road as they just wrapped up a massive tour this summer opening for Fall Out Boy across the country and previously were out with the rock/pop superstar Demi Lovato. These big tours, coupled with some incredible festival appearances such as When We Were Young in 2022 have helped catapult the band's incredible unique and artistic in front of people who may not have stumbled upon them otherwise. While many know the single "Overwhelmed" that took airwaves and TikTok by storm in 2020, RATS have gone on to release numerous tracks since as they carve their way into uncharted musical waters penning songs with heavier lyrical content than the vast majority of their peers.

In the dark, dingy and legendary basement of First Unitarian Church the stage was set for a dramatic performance themed around 'heaven' and 'hell'

as Royal and The Serpent split their set into two separate native portions as lead singer Ryan Santiago poured her soul out on the stage through music. While this split theming has been the vibe of the entire tour, it hit particular hard in Philadelphia as a room full of packed fans were crammed into the punk rock basement of an actual, practicing church. The 22 song setlist showcased a lot about Royal and The Serpent and while it would be easy to get caught up the the theming, the lighting and the drama of the performance - the core thread of what made the show great was the honesty behind it all. Songs in the set like "No Regrets," "JUNKIE," and even "BETTER" impact fans because there is a truth behind the song and when performed lived a level of exposure in the performance.

Ryan Santiago has long been candid about the struggles and successes in her life - Royal and The Serpent's music captures that saga and when performed live it truly does come to life both for the band and for the fans who have adopted the songs into their own lives. You'd be hard pressed to find a better crowd reaction in the punk/indie rock scene than the one that Royal and The Serpent received when they began to play "ONE NATION UNDERDOGS" early in the set. The basement of the First Unitarian Church was transformed at that moment from an underground concert venue to a safe space where everyone in the crowd could truly be themselves, if only for a few hours. During the first half of the evening the band even took some impromptu requests from the excited Philadelphia crowd as they played "Salvador Dali" for the first time live as well as rare performances of "Weddings & Funerals" and "CHIPS" much to the delightment of all the diehard fans.

Royal and The Serpent were not alone on this tour and were joined by JUTES and Baby Fisher, both of whom the crowd treated more like family than they did support artists. Through out the entire evening the interaction between the artists on stage and the crowd was magical. First Unitarian Church hosted many iconic artists over the years including Jimmy Eat World, The Bouncing Souls and now, Royal and The Serpent. Those in attendance will long brag that they were apart of this incredibly intimate and powerful performance in one of the most iconic venues in the country. Those who missed out will always look back with regret on not buying the tickets for this one. 2023 has been a big year for Royal and The Serpent - the band will certainly be back for the Philadelphia fans soon enough but without a doubt it will be in a large venue as this band continues to take the scene by storm.