Boone, NC · indie folk-rock

Rainbow Kitten Surprise

1 upcoming festival

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 Boone, North Carolina, where the members met while attending Appalachian State University. The band is fronted by Ela Melo, whose rapid, half-sung, half-rapped phrasing sits at the centre of the group's sound, 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, and the lyrics 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.

indie folk-rock