ASKING ALEXANDRIA WITH FROM ASHES TO NEW, ROYALE LYNN, AND WHAT LIES BELOW
May 20, 2025
Concert Review
By Maggie: Photographer / Writer
I parked in a nearby garage, grabbed my gear, and made my way across the concrete and down the elevator, stepping into the thick, muggy Florida evening. It was a typical Tampa night – 80-something degrees and heavy with humidity. As I crossed the train tracks toward the The Ritz Ybor, I saw tour buses lining the street and crew members leaning against them, smoking and laughing between load-ins.
It was a Wednesday night, but you’d never know it by the size of the crowd – the line wrapped around the venue, buzzing with anticipation. As I stepped inside, the cool blast of AC was a welcome relief, but I knew it wouldn’t last long. With a stacked lineup and a packed house, I knew that the temperature, and energy, was about to rise fast.
What Lies Below
What Lies Below hit the stage right at 6:30 PM and came out swinging. Formed in COVID-era Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 2020, this five-piece progressive metalcore band brought an intensity that immediately grabbed the room by the throat.
Their set was tight and relentless, filled with gut-punch breakdowns and melodic passages. I’d heard of them before thanks to the buzz around their 2021 EP Destinations (which deservedly snagged “Underground Release of the Year” on Reddit’s Metalcore page), and seeing them live was a long-awaited experience.
Both Andrew and Mike Watson’s vocals were solid, working together to tell different parts of various song’s stories, and the whole band moved with this synced-up energy that made their performance feel absolutely huge for an opener. Lyrically, their songs explore some dark, personal territory about internal battles and emotional weight, and it came through loud and clear in their delivery.
You would have thought that this was a hometown show by the end of the set – the crowd was loving their energy and rocking out HARD. With a shout out to the upcoming bands and the audience working on catching their breath, the band left the stage and the the tone was set for the rest of the night.
Band Members:
Andrew Watson – Vocals
Mike Watson – Guitar/Vocals
Sam Hart – Guitar
Zach Erickson – Bass
Jonah Luteman – Drums
Royale Lynn
Royale Lynn took the stage after What Lies Below and immediately made her presence known. She stepped into a dramatic red glow that set the tone for a bold, genre-defying set. With just a three-piece setup, Bryan Karijanian on guitar and Doug McKenna on drums, she still managed to fill the venue with a huge, heavy sound.
This was my first time seeing her live, and I was genuinely impressed. Her voice leans country, but she’s shifted hard into heavy rock with confidence and edge, fully owning the “redneck rockstar” title she’s known for.
She threw on her guitar for “Black Magic,” the title track from her upcoming debut album, and then surprised the crowd with a beautifully raw cover of Flyleaf’s “All Around Me,” which had the whole room singing. Her latest single, “Greed,” hit hard, but the highlight of the set was arguably “Death Wish,” featuring a guest appearance by Asking Alexandria’s Danny Worsnop. The crowd went wild, and rightfully so.
Royale Lynn is clearly an artist on the rise, and after this performance, it’s easy to see why.
Band Members:
Royale Lynn – Vocal
Bryan Karijanian – Guitar
Caleb Sgambato – Drums
SETLIST:
Sacrifice
Evil
Black Magic
All Around Me
Death Wish
Greed
Six Feet Deep
From Ashes To New
From Ashes to New delivered one of the most musically tight and emotionally charged sets of the night, blending crushing riffs, electronic elements, and melodic hooks with seamless precision.
Frontman Matt Brandyberry’s commanding presence anchored the performance, moving effortlessly between rapid-fire verses and heavy breakdowns. He and Danny Case played off of each other well, riling up the crowd and building the energy steadily throughout the set. Their setlist leaned into their heavier material – something Brandyberry mentioned with pride as he told the crowd about their upcoming unreleased, hardest-hitting album yet, currently caught in label limbo.
The band’s connection with their fans was undeniable. Between songs, they shouted out familiar faces in the crowd, people who had been coming to their shows for years, and made it clear how much that loyalty meant to them. At one point, Brandyberry even grabbed a fan’s phone mid-show to record a quick video before handing it back, drawing a huge cheer from the crowd.
Guitarist Lance Dowdle’s masked theatrics added an eerie edge to the atmosphere, while Mat Madiro’s machine gun-esque drumming kept the energy sky-high. Touring guitarist Jimmy Bennett (I Set My Friends on Fire) rounded out the bands sound in a powerful way and added to the visuals with his long blonde hair whipping through the smoke and lights – it’s easy to see why he’s been touring with the band for going on two years now.
Every song hit hard, and the band’s chemistry with their fans made the whole set feel personal – like a reunion with your loudest, rowdiest friends.
Band Members:
Danny Case – Vocals
Matt Brandyberry – Vocals
Lance Dowdle – Guitar
Jimmy Bennett – Guitar
Mat Madiro – Drums
SETLIST:
Nightmare
Dead to Me
Heartache
Monster in Me
My Name
Barely Breathing
Hate Me Too
Panic
Through It All
Nothing
Asking Alexandria
Asking Alexandria closed out the night with a dramatic entrance, stepping onto the stage cloaked in deep red lighting, accented by flashes of purple and pink that danced across the venue. The crowd erupted as the band emerged, strobes firing and anticipation peaking. Frontman Danny Worsnop appeared last, dressed entirely in black – oversized hoodie pulled up, black gloves on, giving off mysterious vibes.
They opened with “Eve,” the crimson glow echoing the 2017 album artwork it hails from, immediately setting the tone. The band powered through a setlist that weaved between their newer material and fan favorites, including a standout performance of “Into the Fire” featuring a surprise guest appearance by Royale Lynn. Dressed in a matching all-black hoodie ensemble, she caught Danny off guard, earning a grin and a mid-song laugh as he said, “That’s a look!” before powering on.
During “Where Did It Go?” the crowd exploded with energy. Crowd surfers flew overhead and the pit pulsed with movement. Mid-set, Danny paused for a heartfelt moment, reflecting on writing Like a House on Fire during a peaceful period of his life, only for the album to “come to life in front of [him]” during COVID. He touched on the importance of unity, reminding the audience that regardless of what divides us, we all come together for the love of music.
The back half of the set was a whirlwind – fog, confetti, flying limbs – until they hit the crowd with “The Final Episode (Let’s Change the Channel),” sending fans into a frenzy. The band briefly left the stage, only to return to deafening screams for a two-song encore, ending their tour with pure electricity and one last unforgettable pit.
Band Members:
Danny Worsnop – Vocals
James Cassells – Drums
Cameron Liddell – Guitar
Sam Bettley – Bass
SETLIST:
Eve
Alone Again
Bad Blood
Down to Hell
Into the Fire
Where Did It Go?
They Don’t Want What We Want (and They Don’t Care)
Hopelessly Hopeful
Moving On
The Violence
Dark Void
Things Could Be Different
House on Fire
The Final Episode (Let’s Change the Channel)
Encore:
Don’t Pray for Me
Alone in a Room
For a Wednesday night, the energy inside the venue felt more like a sold-out Saturday. What Lies Below set the tone early with a crushing opener that pulled no punches, while Royale Lynn brought her genre-bending edge and undeniable charisma that had the crowd hooked. From Ashes to New turned things up even further with their explosive, emotionally charged set and tight connection with their longtime fans, and by the time Asking Alexandria took the stage, the audience was already riding a high that was only pushed higher. Between the surprise duets, heartfelt moments, and nonstop waves of crowd surfers, this lineup delivered a night that felt anything but midweek. It was the kind of show that left ears ringing, voices gone, and hearts full – proof that the live music scene is very much alive and well, no matter what day of the week it is.
Asking Alexandria:
From Ashes To New:
Royale Lynn:
What Lies Below:
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