53 shows. Two festivals. Nine months. One tour bus. The numbers suggest the kind of rock-and-roll fantasy many bands spend their careers chasing. But for indie rock group Rainbow Kitten Surprise, the journey has always been less about the spectacle and more about the people beside them.
Rainbow Kitten Surprise (RKS) is set to kick off the second leg of its bones North American Tour, with a stop at Los Angeles’ Greek Theatre on July 21. Originally formed by Ela Melo and Darrick “Bozzy” Keller, RKS took shape in an Appalachian State University dorm room in 2013. As with most young students, the pair was searching for community.
“I used to take my guitar around campus and try to make friends, and it’s just kind of crazy how we connected like that,” Keller said.
Shortly after, three more band members were brought into the circle. RKS is now composed of lead vocalist Melo, Keller on rhythm guitar, Ethan Goodpaster on lead guitar and Jess Haney on drums. The band saw a sharp rise in success throughout its first three albums, Seven + Mary (2013), RKS (2015) and How to: Friend, Love, Freefall (2018), with the single “Fever Pitch” reaching No. 34 on Billboard’s Alternative Songs chart.
Credit: Shervin Lainez
Just as the band’s notoriety was hitting its peak, its lead singer was hitting her breaking point. Music, which was once an outlet for Melo, ultimately became her undoing.
Melo began to fall into a writing frenzy, creating tracks that were, at times, eight minutes long. Though she was unraveling, Melo felt obligated to continue the work in order to do a good job for her bandmates and fans.
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“In the effort to keep trying, I pushed past my limits,” Melo recalled. “Art has both of those sides in it, and I think that’s what draws people to art – the light and the darkness of it … but that darkness, man, can just swallow you whole.”
RKS went on hiatus in 2023 after abruptly canceling its world tour. During that time, Melo stepped away from the spotlight and entered a treatment facility, where she received a life-changing bipolar disorder diagnosis. Now, she speaks about her own health in an effort to inspire hope for others struggling, while acknowledging that seeking comprehensive care is unfortunately a privilege.
“[It’s] way harder than it should be,” Melo said. “It gets really dark; it’s really lonely.”
Once Melo returned to music, now with the combined support of her loved ones, work team and health professionals, she began writing what she considers the best music of her career. The band released Love Hate Music Box in 2024, following six years without a full-length album. Featuring a staggering 22 songs, Keller called the album a “long time coming.” Their newest album, bones, is a continuation of that work. While the 2024 album was a culmination of six years, bones is more of a snapshot of where the band is in their lives now.
The 10-track album stays true to Rainbow Kitten Surprise’s signature alternative rock sound, balancing infectious energy with emotional vulnerability. Melo’s vocals are both raw and poetic, delivering every lyric with a sense of intimacy, while the band’s chemistry is evident in the dialogue between instruments. Together, the tracks flow naturally, exploring the complexities of love and personal growth.
According to Keller, this phase of RKS is the healthiest point – not only for Melo, but for the band as a whole.
“It feels good to relish in that,” Keller said, speaking about his own sobriety since the band’s hiatus. “We’re able to sit down and work out a song – work out a whole album – and then go record it. It was kind of, I guess, a reminder to ourselves that we could still do it.”
bones is RKS’s most collaborative album to date with the writing process working a little differently than in the past. Melo said she enters the studio with ideas and a few lines. From there, the band begins to build off of Melo’s lyrics.
Just as they were in their college days, RKS created each track of bones organically and as a team, building off each guitar riff and drum hit. This way of working translated into the recording of the album, which they recorded live – an approach they plan to continue with future work. This raw style leads to a unique experience for concertgoers attending the bones tour: No matter how many shows fans have seen, each performance is unique.
“I’ve never played the same show twice, and never had the same session twice,” Melo said. “What’s the same is the connection that we share as a band … It goes back to the art thing. It’s just like sharing who you are authentically is how you connect with people.”
Onstage, the bond between the members of RKS shines through. Longtime fans of the band will catch a glimpse of those Appalachian State University students who were searching for connection through music. Haney chuckled as he described himself and the group as “nerds” who happen to be in a rock band.
“We love music, but we also love video games,” Haney said. “If you were to bust into our green room, you would probably just find us chilling there on our video games or talking about movies.”
The connection Melo shares with her audience is just as important as the one she shares with her bandmates. She builds that relationship through transparency, bringing the same honesty to the stage whether she is riding a high or navigating a darker day. Authenticity is not just part of the music. It is the foundation of how she connects with others.
“Everybody has to find their own way to both snap into their performative self and also their authentic human self,” Melo said.
For Melo, connecting with fans extends beyond the music. She said one of her guiding principles, both as a songwriter and as a person, is using her platform to lift others up. As part of that commitment, $1 from every ticket sold for the band’s July 21 show will be donated to the Rainbow Kitten Surprise Fund, which supports marginalized communities.
To Los Angeles fans, a crowd that RKS agrees always brings the energy, Melo’s message was simple:
“We love you, and we’ll see you really soon, and it’s gonna be great.”