Boone, NC · indie folk-rock

Rainbow Kitten Surprise

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Genre-fluid Boone collective — rapid-fire folk-rock with communal fervor, harmonies stacked high and crowds louder still.

Rainbow Kitten Surprise formed in 2013 in a dorm room at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, where singer Ela Melo and guitarist Darrick "Bozzy" Keller began writing together, recording an early EP called Mary in that same room. The band's name came from a friend who had recently recovered from a serious illness.

The lineup grew to include guitarist Ethan Goodpaster, drummer Jess Haney and, until 2024, bassist Charlie Holt, with a sound shaped partly by Modest Mouse, Kings of Leon, Frank Ocean and Schoolboy Q. Melo's rapid, half-sung, half-rapped phrasing sits at the centre of the group, surrounded by layered vocal harmonies and interlocking guitar parts.

The music moves between folk-rock, indie rock and hip-hop cadences, often within a single song, with lyrics that deal candidly with faith, identity and mental health. "It's Called: Freefall" became the band's best-known song and helped push the group from a regional following to national audiences, with live shows known for loud, word-for-word crowd participation.

The 2018 album How To: Friend, Love, Freefall, released through Elektra Records, broadened that reach further, with singles "Hide" and "Fever Pitch" reaching national radio charts. In March 2022, Melo came out as transgender, and the band has continued releasing new work since, including 2024's Love Hate Music Box.

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indie folk-rock