Royal & the Serpent - The Fine Line - Minneapolis MN - June 12th 2026

First Avenue and the Fine Line present Royal & the Serpent with special guests Siiickbrain on June 12th 2026

Review and photos by Jesse McKinney

Siiickbrain
This was my first time hearing Siiickbrain so I really had no idea what to expect. It didn’t take long for the room to figure it out though! The crowd was a little smaller at that point in the night but it kind of worked for her. Her whole sound had a darker, heavier alt-pop vibe and was mixed with enough metal edge that it never felt out of place opening for Royal & the Serpent. It is kind of hard to pin down exactly but live it made sense pretty quickly.

What stood out most was how fast people warmed up to her. In the beginning it felt like a lot of the room was still filling out but the people there were starting to take notice of Siiickbrain’s set. You could see the front row really locked in! She definitely had some die-hard fans up there singing every lyric, even bringing a kid on stage to sing a song with her! All that helped pull more people into it as the set went on. For someone I had not listened to before, she came off really comfortable in that space and knew how to hold the room.

Knowing she had opened for Bring Me the Horizon and Knocked Loose a few years back makes sense after seeing her live. She has a darker and rougher edge that can fit in heavier rooms but still keeps the songs catchy. Her song “Loser” has been stuck in my head ever since the show! I walked in not knowing her at all and left with a new song on repeat.

Siiickbrain performing live at Fine Line in Minneapolis, Minnesota on June 12, 2026, with Royal & the Serpent.

Royal & the Serpent
Right when I walked into the Fine Line and noticed Royal & the Serpent’s set, I was already curious before anything even started! I couldn’t really tell what she was going to do with it but it definitely looked intentional. Once the set started though the stage setup made a lot more sense. There was no live band, it was just her and a stage hand helping move some props around and that’s all she needed to put on an amazing show! She used the space really well and everything felt planned out, from multiple outfit changes to utilizing every prop and every inch of the stage setup. I always enjoy seeing the stage used as part of the performance and not just a backdrop to it.

Her sound sits in that alt-pop lane but with enough darker and rougher edges that it doesn’t just feel like straight pop. Most people probably know her from songs like “Overwhelmed” or “Wasteland” from the popular Netflix show Arcane, but hearing songs like “Bleed for It” and “Dark Days” live made it clear there is a lot more to Royal & the Serpent than just the popular hits. The whole set had a pretty specific mood and every prop, movement, and pause fit perfectly to whatever song she was performing! Even the spaces between songs felt thought out and like they were part of the show instead of just downtime.

The crowd was on the smaller side but I actually think the smaller crowd worked in her favor! In a bigger room some of the details in a performance like hers might have gotten lost, but at the Fine Line it was the perfect venue for an up close and personal show. She was constantly engaging with fans during the songs and not just between them and it made the whole set feel more connected. One of the best moments came when she stepped into the crowd and danced with fans for part of a song. I always enjoy moments like those at shows, they usually never seem planned, it’s just the artist getting swept up in the energy of the crowd and wanting to join them.

What impressed me most was how much movement there was even without a band behind her. She kept the set moving visually and emotionally, and you could tell she had thought through how every part should land. Royal & the Serpent put on a show to remember and I can’t wait until she comes back through Minnesota again.