From Boone, North Carolina, Rainbow Kitten Surprise (RKS) will be one of the headlining bands for the Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival of Music & Dance, May 4-7. Other headlining musicians include Donna the Buffalo, Amy Helm and Todd Snider, playing with Great American Taxi.
RKS will be playing at Shakori Hills on Saturday, May 6. The band is also set to make appearances at the Shaky Knees Music Festival in Atlanta and the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee later in the summer.
Since forming in an Appalachian State University dorm room in 2013, RKS has released two albums. The band was also featured on Spotify’s Viral 50 Chart-a list of the most viral songs in the U.S.
Sara Waters, co-coordinator of the Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival, said, “We’ve had some pretty amazing world artists and popular Americana acts, but Rainbow Kitten Surprise might be the biggest act we’ve had that is geared toward a younger crowd.”
Donna the Buffalo is another special headlining act. Waters said, “Donna the Buffalo started our sister festival up in New York and are our festival hosts. It wouldn’t be a GrassRoots Festival without them.”
According to the band’s website, Donna the Buffalo has a “distinctive, groove-heavy and danceable” sound.
Waters says she is excited about the diversity of the different bands that will be playing at the festival. “Bands learn a lot from listening to other bands, and our artists always come away with something new – be it relationships, experiences or twists to their own style.”
The Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival is a nonprofit organization that aims to bring multi-cultural communities together through music, art and dance. The 15th annual festival will be held from May 4 to May 7 at the Shakori Hills Community Arts Center in Pittsboro.
The Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival will also feature local musicians, many of which are from the Triangle. You can view the full list of performers at http:// shakorihillsgrassroots.org/ spring-2017-lineup/.