Dressed in a black, Edward-Scissorhands-esque gown and corset, American singer-songwriter and model Saint Avangeline took the stage, her flowing red curls catching the light and framing her silhouette. Red curtains enclosed the stage as lights shifted overhead, illuminating Basement Days, the band that supported her otherwise solo act.
Hosted Tuesday night by BLCKJEANS MGMT at Sixth Street bar Elysium, the venue slowly filled as the alternative indie artist began her 40-minute, 10-song set. Audience members who had been lounging on couches quickly rose and crowded toward the stage, drawn in immediately by her magnetic presence.
“This is my first time ever in Austin,” Saint Avangeline said. “Shoutout to BLCKJEANS (MGMT) for the showcase, I’m so excited to hear everyone.”
She opened with “Left For Dead,” easing in the audience with delicate, airy vocals as instrumentals gradually encased the space. The track set the tone for her signature dynamic: a siren-like pull of ethereal singing that, without warning, fractured into visceral, guttural screams.
“Next one is one that some of you might’ve heard,” Saint Avangeline said. “Kind of randomly blew up for me two years ago. Let me know if you recognize it.”
Following with “Lilith,” her most recognizable track, the band stepped aside. Sparse guitar and bass underscored her voice, allowing the emotional weight of the lyrics — centered on her experience of sexual assault in a relationship — to take full focus. Her ability to move between fragility and intensity felt less like a stylistic choice and more like an emotional necessity.
“Lilith, you siren / How could you do this to me? / Lilith, I’m dyin’ / Why won’t you set me free / I tried to scream but lilies clouded my mind / The petals softly floating into my eyes / I felt your fingers slowly crawl up my spine / We didn’t have to sink for you to be mine,” Saint Avangeline sang.
Continuing with “Blood You Shed” and “10 Things I Miss About You,” Saint Avangeline paused between songs to contextualize them as reflections on a past relationship. When the band returned, eerie guitar lines and pulsing instrumentals mirrored the tension in her delivery.
“Taking a break from my exes,” Saint Avangeline joked. “This one is about hot, lesbian snake sex. We love to see it.”
Expecting the opening guitar riffs to the metal-heavy “Serpentine Queen,” Saint Avangeline mentioned an error when the speakers played “Your Rarest of Flowers,” which layers haunting, restrained vocals over slow hip-hop-influenced beats. Despite the switch up and stark difference between the songs, she confidently performed both.
Following with “Pretty Creature (Defile Me),” Saint Avangeline oscillated between airy refrains and explosive screams, bending at the waist and hair falling over her face as she headbanged in time with the drums.
For “Gardener of Eden,” her first-ever song written after dropping out of college at 19, the stage quieted. Alone again, she leaned into deeply personal lyricism about sapphic identity and self-discovery, grounding the set in introspection.
Closing with “Sanguine Souls” and “Purple,” Saint Avangeline’s vocals lingered in the dim light as the crowd fell still.
By the end of the set, Saint Avangeline transformed a casual showcase crowd into a captivated audience, her performance leaving little doubt that her rising presence in the indie scene is hard-earned — and impossible to ignore.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly referenced the song “Your Rarest of Flowers” as “Serpentine Queen.” The Texan regrets this error.
