Editor’s note: This article has been updated to correctly identify Royel Otis as an Australian band. An earlier version of this article ran with a headline and deck that incorrectly said the band was an Austrian band.
Rising indie-pop Australian band Royel Otis performed in San Francisco at the Rickshaw Stop on May 18 to a sold-out crowd on their “PRATTS & PAIN North American tour.”
Formed in 2019, Royel Otis’ name joins the first names of musician Royel Maddell and lead vocalist Otis Pavlovic, respectively. The two were accompanied on stage by keyboardist Jim Flair and drummer Julian Sudek.
After releasing three EPs and an album, Royel Otis had already secured a loyal audience in Australia. However, it was not until the past year that their success became globalized with their viral covers of Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s “Murder on the Dancefloor” and The Cranberries’ “Linger.”
Released Jan. 18, Royel Otis covered “Murder on the Dancefloor” by Sophie Ellis-Bextor on Triple J, an Australian radio station. The cover received nearly five million views on YouTube and sits at over 31 million streams on Spotify, making it the second most popular song on their page.
Two weeks after the release of their Cranberries cover, which gained 11 million views on YouTube as of June 26, the band announced their album tour had sold out on April 24 via Instagram.
An eager San Francisco crowd, primarily Generation Z and millennials dressed in casual wear, formed a line wrapping around the block in front of the popular music venue, Rickshaw Stop.
The night began at 9 p.m. with Girl and Girl, a fellow Australian band hailing from Brisbane, opening with their rock set, including songs from their recent album “Call A Doctor.”
At 10:15 p.m., Royel Otis took to the stage, performing “Sonic Blue” from their new album. The crowd was alive, as audience members crowd-surfed and formed mosh pits.
After finishing their last song of the night, “Oysters In My Pocket,” the band quickly rushed off the stage as the audience chanted for an encore. Nearly as quickly as they left, the band soon returned to perform two final songs, beginning with a compelling rendition of their cover of “Linger.”
