Rainbow Kitten Surprise is an American

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

indie band, featuring lead vocalist Ela Melo, Darrick "Bozzy" Keller (guitar, backup vocals), Ethan Goodpaster (electric guitar), and Jess Haney (drums). The band formed in Boone,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. Rainbow Kitten Surprise's sound has been influenced by artists such as

Modest Mouse Modest Mouse is an American rock music, rock band formed in 1993 in Issaquah, Washington, and currently based in Portland, Oregon. The founding members were lead singer/guitarist Isaac Brock (musician), Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green and ba ...

Kings of Leon Kings of Leon is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, in 1999. The band includes brothers Caleb, Nathan, and Jared Followill and their cousin Matthew Followill. The band's early music was a blend of Southern roc ...

Frank Ocean Frank Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux; October 28, 1987) is an American singer and songwriter. He has been credited by several music journalism, music critics as a pioneer of the alternative R&B genre. Ocean has won two Grammy Awards and a B ...

, and

Schoolboy Q Quincy Matthew Hanley (born October 26, 1986), better known by his stage name Schoolboy Q (stylized as ScHoolboy Q), is an American rapper. He began recording in 2007, and released his first two mixtapes, ''ScHoolboy Turned Hustla'' (2008) and '' ...

History

Rainbow Kitten Surprise was formed in 2013 by Darrick Keller and Ela Melo in an

Appalachian State University Appalachian State University (), or App State, is a Public university, public research university in Boone, North Carolina, United States. It was founded as a normal school, teachers' college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and th ...

dorm room. They asked a friend who had just been through a tough illness to name the band. Their first EP, ''Mary'', was recorded in a dorm room. They later added three new members, Ethan Goodpaster, Jess Haney, and Charlie Holt. RKS independently released its first album, ''Seven'', which was later re-released together with the band's first EP as a joint album called ''Seven + Mary''. RKS initially recorded its music under the Split Rail Records label, a student run label at Appalachian State University's Hayes School of Music, where three of the band's members attended. From 2014 through 2017, Rainbow Kitten Surprise has performed at multiple music festivals and other events, including

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Music and Arts Festival and

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Festival. On April 6, 2018, RKS released its ''How To: Friend, Love, Freefall'' album, under the

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the ...

label. It features 13 tracks, including the single "Hide", the music video of which depicts four drag queens coming out to their families. The single "Fever Pitch" from the album climbed to number 34 on ''Billboard''s

Alternative Songs Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-play ...

chart in spring 2018. In May 2019, RKS released ''Mary (B-Sides)'', consisting of a studio recording of "Heart" (a song originally released via YouTube and SoundCloud in 2014) and the track "No Vacancy". In January 2020, the PBS show

aired Rainbow Kitten Surprise in a half-hour set recorded the previous fall. On October 9, 2020, Rainbow Kitten Surprise released the single "Our Song", which had been previously played at multiple live events. This single marked their first release as a band since May 2019. On August 13, 2021, Rainbow Kitten Surprise released the live album ''RKS! Live from Athens Georgia''. It included a collection of 25 songs performed at a previous live concert. On March 30, 2022, the band's lead singer came out as transgender, becoming Ela Melo. On April 6, 2022, Rainbow Kitten Surprise released the single "Work Out", their first new single released in nearly 18 months. On May 24, 2023, Rainbow Kitten Surprise cancelled their 2023 tour. The decision came shortly after a bandmate fell ill. On March 4, 2024, the band announced on Instagram that they would be parting ways with their bassist, Charlie Holt. On March 8, 2024, the band released the lead single "Superstar" and fan track "LOL". These released singles accompanied the announcement of their fourth studio album ''Love Hate Music Box''. On April 5, 2024, the band released the single "Overtime" from their fourth album. The song features Grammy-winning artist

Kacey Musgraves Kacey Lee Musgraves (born August 21, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began her career in the early 2000s, when she self-released three solo albums and recorded another album as a member of the duo Texas Two Bits. In 20 ...

. It also marks the band's first artist feature as a band. On April 26, 2024, the band released the new single, "SVO" from their fourth album. On May 10, 2024, the band released their fourth studio album, ''Love Hate Music Box''. The album reflects on many of the hardships the lead singer, Melo, went through over the previous six years. It is also their biggest project since 2018. On February 14, 2025, the band released the single 'Espionage'.

Band members

Current members

* Darrick "Bozzy" Keller – rhythm guitar, background vocals (2013–present) * Ela Melo – lead vocals, guitars (2013–present) * Ethan Goodpaster – lead guitar, background vocals (2014–present) * Jess Haney – drums, background vocals (2014–present)

Former member

* Charlie Holt – bass guitar, background vocals (2014–2024)

Discography

Studio albums

Charted songs

Music videos

* "Devil Like Me" (March 1, 2014) * "Cocaine Jesus" (May 1, 2015) * "Bare Bones" (May 3, 2015) * "Fever Pitch" (January 16, 2018) * "Holy War" (February 23, 2018) * "Hide" (April 3, 2018) * "It's Called: Freefall" (January 28, 2019) * "Work Out" (June 16, 2022) * "LOL" (March 6, 2024) * "Superstar" (March 8, 2024)

References

{{Reflist Indie rock musical groups from North Carolina 2013 establishments in North Carolina Musical groups established in 2013