LIVE REVIEW: Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Cigarettes @ Sunset, Rock City, Nottingham, 30/05/2026
Along for the ride for Rainbow Kitten Surprise’s UK tour was fellow North Carolina residents Cigarettes @ Sunset, with their brand of what they call “Possum Rock”. Roughly, this translated to an earnest blend of americana, indie and folk with a distinct smalltown feel that made the performance easy to fall in love with. They struck a really great balance between emotional, soul-driven roots and blood-pumping rock’n’roll riffs. Between tracks, the band kept reinforcing this idea of togetherness and humanness with funny (and unfortunate) tales of being called the wrong name in bed and date spots in their hometown. Tracks like Pavement and My Fix blew away Rainbow Kitten Surprise fans who obliged when asked to jump and were quickly singing along whenever they could. Cigarettes @ Sunset definitely captured some hearts before the night had even fully begun. 8/10
The room was well and truly warmed up and ready to receive the main event, with rapturous applause as Rainbow Kitten Surprise took to the stage. Heads were instantly bopping to the familiar strumming of Our Song, and arms were flung around friends for Hide – an emotional tribute to the LGBTQ+ experience and having to hide who you are. This strong opening trifecta was finalised with Dang which also particularly hit the spot – it’s a song that feels designed to sing and dance along with your mates. Instantly, a welcoming and vibrant space was created ready to celebrate love, friendship and queer joy with a beautiful mix of alternative rock sounds and tender lyrics.
Rainbow Kitten Surprise have a real nostalgic feel to them, which sometimes is something that might raise warning flags. But it was a really welcomed feeling which perhaps is testament to just how important How to: Friend, Live, Freefall was to so many people way back in 2018. Fans in the audience were singing along to every single word, loving every second. They played songs across their discography, creating a full picture of their musical journey as a band, and creating plenty of opportunities to wander down RKS memory lane.
Ela Melo is a captivating frontwoman, wearing emotional lyricism on her face. She’s one of those musicians with an instantly recognisable vocal tone, unique to her, which carries such a dynamic and enjoyable edge to it. She triumphantly kicked, marched and danced along all evening, inviting the audience to get involved and keep the party going too. The six piece remained a slick outfit throughout, never faltering and always delivering a fantastic rock ensemble. There was swagger in each riff, bounce in every drumbeat and heart in every breath. It’s no surprise that a band going for over 10 years is as tight as this, but it’s nonetheless impressive.
A special mention was most definitely earned by the lighting setup on stage which contained the most vibrant, scene setting hues for the performance. Perhaps this shouldn’t be a surprise for a band literally named Rainbow Kitten Surprise, but the vibrancy and creativity from their lighting designer deserves to be celebrated. Bands using the same three colours all night with no real change – take note!
They finished the night off with two of their hardest hitters, Tropics and It’s Called Freefall, which rounded the evening out perfectly. It’s one that sounds so special with hundreds of voices joining in on the chorus, which will certainly be a special memory to hold onto for tons of Rainbow Kitten Surprise fans in Nottingham. After such a warm reception from the city, hopefully it will only be a matter of time before a follow up visit which would certainly be received with just as much enthusiasm. 8/10
Written By: Izzy Morris
