It took roughly a decade for Rainbow Kitten Surprise to evolve from two guitarists messing around in a North Carolina dormitory to indie superstars.
The band emerged in Boone in 2013 when vocalist Ela Melo and guitarist Darrick Keller bonded over acoustic sessions at Appalachian State, before recruiting Ethan Goodpaster on lead guitar, Jess Haney on drums and Charlie Holt on bass. Their name came from a drugged-up hospital visitor, and it stuck.
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Devil Like Me cracked Spotify’s viral charts early on, and a VH1 talent competition appearance brought wider exposure. Festival slots followed – Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits – before Elektra Records signed them for 2018’s How To: Friend, Love, Freefall, the album that transformed them from college-town curiosity into arena-filling act. Songs like Cocaine Jesus, Fever Pitch and It’s Called: Freefall racked up hundreds of millions of streams and cemented their reputation for introspective lyricism wrapped in layered harmonies.
Live, RKS operates with precision but never clinical detachment. The Forum setlist showcased their full range across 26 tracks: early fan favourites like Devil Like Me and Lady Lie alongside newer material from their 2025 album bones. The band opened with Hide before moving through peaks like Painkillers, When It Lands and Wasted. Melo’s vocals translate remarkably well to larger rooms, shifting from whispered vulnerability to full-bodied wails without losing intimacy. Goodpaster’s guitar work fluctuates between textured ambience and cutting leads, while Haney’s drumming provides the dynamic backbone.
The Melbourne crowd skewed young and exceptionally warm – unusual generosity between strangers, by all accounts. The band acknowledged Australia as one of their biggest markets, and the reciprocation was obvious. The encore closed with Polite Company, Thanks for Coming and finally It’s Called: Freefall, which received the kind of rapturous, every-word-sung reception that separates dedicated fanbases from casual listeners.
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