Crown The Empire's Columbus history goes back to a 2012 show at the Columbus Performing Arts Center, through The Basement and Newport Music Hall, to Rock on the Range in 2016 and a Bluestone date in 2024. The Sonic Temple slot puts a very different version of the band in front of that crowd.
Founding member Hayden Tree, the bassist and co-lead vocalist, left in December 2025. That left the Dallas band as a duo, singer Andy Leo and guitarist Brandon Hoover, and in June 2026 they put out "raw," their first song since 2023's Dogma and their first as a two-piece. It's a noticeably calmer track than the metalcore they started with.