Concert Recap: Fit For a King's "Lonely God" Tour in Myrtle Beach, SC (May 17, 2026)

Since the release of their latest album Lonely God last year, Fit For a King has been touring relentlessly, both domestically and internationally. Between headline tours, support slots, and festival appearances, the last couple years have been incredibly busy for the band. Their latest outing sees them once again crossing the country in support of Lonely God through the month of May, this time featuring support from Acres, ten56, and Invent Animate.

Acres hit the stage first, and aside from a brief technical difficulty during the second song "Built to Bleed," their set was effective in getting the crowd warmed up. Their six-song setlist consisted of cuts from their latest full-length album, 2025's The Host, with the one exception being their set-closer "Lost," featured on their 2024 EP What It's Like to Feel Worthless.

Personally, I've been wanting to see Acres live ever since my interview with guitarist/founder Alex Freeman and bassist Jack Rogers last spring to promote the release of The Host — to this day it's still one of my favorite conversations I've had on the YouTube channel, and to finally get to see the guys in a live setting was a great feeling. The Host was one of my favorite albums of last year, and I loved hearing half of the album live during their set. My only complaint about their time on stage was that they didn't have a longer set time, but that just makes me more excited for the next time I get to see them.

Acres Setlist:

1. Not So Different
2. Built to Bleed
3. Take My Last Breath
4. My Everything
5. Bloodlust
6. Lost

Up next was ten56, and this show was my first experience with this band and their music. Full disclosure, I'd never heard of ten56 before this tour, but they made a fantastic first impression over the course of their set. The strobes and bold single-color lighting matched the musical intensity of their set, and everyone on the floor seemed to understand the assignment, with the moshpit opening up at the very start of their performance.

The highlight of their set was the introduction of their closing track, "Boy," during which vocalist Aaron Matts expressed his disdain for pedophiles and called for their extermination, which was met with resounding applause from the crowd. Much like with Acres, I'm certain that ten56 made several new fans at this show that will be on the lookout for future nearby tour dates, myself included.

ten56. Setlist:

1. Doormat
2. Diazepam
3. Yenta
4. Snapped Neck
5. I Know Where You Sleep
6. Earwig
7. Ender
8. IO
9. Boy

Direct support came from Invent Animate, a band that I've seen a ton of hype about online for the last few years. Despite the longtime name recognition online, I never really gave their music much of a chance for some reason, but after seeing them live, I quickly regretted not getting into them sooner.

Invent Animate's set was both visually unique and musically intense, almost exclusively featuring songs from their latest album Heavener, and I loved every second of it — as soon as the show was over, I added the Heavener album to my Apple Music library and put it on repeat. They had a very distinct look on stage, which matched their unique sound. The audience seemed to love their set as well, with several longtime fans singing every word to every song. With this being my first time really hearing their music in general, on top of seeing them live for the first time, it made me realize what the online hype has been about for all this time, and it just made me more excited for whenever they come back to the Carolinas.

Invent Animate Setlist:

1. Absence Persistent
2. Shade Astray
3. False Meridian
4. Sleepless Deathbed
5. How We Used To Say Goodbye
6. Heavener
7. Fall Like Rain
8. Without a Whisper
9. Immolation of Night

Fit For a King took the stage and began their set with Lonely God's moody and intense opening track, "Begin the Sacrifice" — the first chorus hit like a ton of bricks, with everyone in the crowd screaming along with vocalist Ryan Kirby. This early exchange in energy between the band and the audience quickly set the tone for the rest of the night.

Fit For a King's setlist featured two-thirds of the Lonely God album, along with classic fan favorites mixed in here and there. From the hard-hitting "Backbreaker," which popularly features Kirby's 24-second long scream, and the singalong-inducing "When Everything Means Nothing," there were so many incredible musical moments throughout the band's set. I haven't been a fan of this band for very long, but their music and live performance have made a strong impression on me, with them being one of the most exciting metalcore bands out there today in my eyes — the way they're able to replicate the impressive musicianship of their records in a live setting is unbelievable, and the energy from the audience is on another level, whether you're in the pit or the balcony.

Ever since the release of their album The Hell We Create in 2022, Fit For a King has been heavily on my radar — I've seen them on two occasions before this tour, with the first as a support act for I Prevail in 2022, then at the 2025 Rockville festival, and I'm grateful to have finally witnessed a headlining show from them over the weekend.

Getting to photograph this band was an awesome experience — Ryan "Tuck" O'Leary is one of my favorite bassists to watch live, and I knew I had to do my damnedest to get a shot of him while he was in the middle of swinging his bass around like a madman. Everyone in this band is so great at what they do, and they make for a fantastic unit on stage together. They sound just as solid live as they do on their albums, if not better, and I can't say enough how much I recommend seeing them live.

Fit For a King Setlist:

1. Begin the Sacrifice
2. Shattered Glass
3. Extinction
4. No Tomorrow
5. Shelter
6. The Price of Agony
7. God of Fire
8. Backbreaker
9. Between Us
10. Keeping Secrets
11. Breaking the Mirror
12. Technium
13. Lonely God

Encore:

14. When Everything Means Nothing
15. Witness the End

Fit For a King continues their Lonely God victory lap throughout the summer, this time in amphitheaters and arenas across the US and Canada in support of Motionless in White on the first leg of their "Sweat and Blood" Tour. For all tour dates and to buy tickets, click here.

To keep up with Acres, click here.

To keep up with ten56, click here.

To keep up with Invent Animate, click here.

To keep up with Fit For a King, click here.