Rainbow Kitten Surprise Wants You to Turn the F Up

In a whirlwind of colorful laser lights and pirouettes, Rainbow Kitten Surprise took over ACL Live Monday night for their second of two sold out shows (Feb. 17 & 18). On tour with Mt. Joy, RKS has been parading their poetic new album How To: Friend, Love, Freefall around the world. Tickets have sold out so quickly, they’ve added multiple shows in Atlanta, LA and Austin, as they continue to pick up cities along the route.

Sam, “Bozzy”, Ethan, Charlie, and Jess met in their freshman dorm at App State, where they recorded their first album Seven + Mary (2013). The five-piece has since grown up together, transitioning from their dorm room to a professional recording studio; from playing dive bars in Boone, North Carolina to rocking Camden Assembly in London. Last night RKS showed us how astoundingly they’ve matured into their signature style of energetic genre bending and blending. They blessed us with folk, rock n roll, R&B, indie rock, and even a little rap.

RKS turned up the tempo on ‘First Class’ so we could dance and played a folkier-than-recorded version of their early ‘All That and More (Sailboat)’. Sam rapped in ‘Rectify’ as the stage glowed red behind him. The set list featured a satisfying balance of songs from all three of their albums complemented with a mesmerizing lightshow.

Showers of rainbow lasers poured over the crowd as Sam decorated beautiful lyrics with energetic twirls and dramatic reaches for Ethan’s hand and he strummed away. In a recent interview, the band agreed their goal was to dance more, and it’s part of what makes them so captivating to watch--they make you smile. Charlie is one of the most animated and exciting bassists I’ve ever seen live. At one point, Sam did an arabesque on top of the drum set as colorful lights backlit his figure. He was shirtless and barefoot by the end of the show.

Before the last song of the encore, Sam approached the crowd to see “if anybody minds?” Screams from the sold out venue told the story. “Well if you really don't mind,” he said, “then please turn the fuck up!” The stage erupted in a storm of green lasers, as a Led Zeppelin-style screaming guitar riff set off ‘Run’ and we all head banged our way into the night. We really don't mind, Rainbow Kitten Surprise, please keep doing your thing.



Live MusicJulia StrellerRainbow Kitten Surprise, RKS, Mt. Joy, Julia Streller, Anne-Marie Halovanic