You’d think a band barely past its first birthday would be bickering over whose basement is best for practice sessions.  At least that’s the visual a stereotypical inauguration tends to suggest.  But there’s nothing conventional about Rachel & The Kings, and the dynamo-style start the band boasts is no exception.  Consider: with less than two months of official togetherdom, Rachel & The Kings won Ford’s national “Gimme the Gig II” competition, earning huge accolades from legendary producer (and head judge) Don Was.  Not to mention becoming the de facto stars of “Gimme the Gig II,” which aired in July, 2012 and making KTCL’s top three band’s in Denver for their Hometown for the Holidays competition in the same year. Within a year and a half the band had opened for Third Eye Blind at the First Bank Center and ZZ Ward and The Fray as well as many others.

What explains such immediate and extraordinary success is a confluence of talent culled from piles of musical endowment accumulating around Denver these days.  Rachel James, already an established singer / songwriter, initially teamed up with friend and producer Joey Barba (lead guitarist of former band Tickle Me Pink).  As production on her first full-length album progressed, the need for formidable players to complement the music’s intense construction became clear.  Such talent was found in notable the players like, Ian Short, violin player and long-time collaborator alongside Rachel, with former status playing violin for Hello Kavita and Noah Matthews, former bass player on the Alan Baird Project. With the eventual addition of help from Dave Preston (Matt Morris Band, Justin Timberlake, Kelly Clarkson, and more) and Jon Powers (Matt Morris Band, Justin Timberlake, Charlie Sexton)  – the proverbial circle was complete. 

And as often occurs in these charmed circumstances, the chemistry was simply something too potent for anyone to ignore.  And thus began Rachel & The Kings, a young person’s super-group who proves worthy of that superlative moniker.  Their live shows make fun feel justified, a sort of mature approach to having a rockin’ good time.  Their songwriting finesse and musical artistry set the band on a playing field that’s really all their own.  But what separates Rachel & The Kings the most from other bands is the real joy onstage they seem to experience themselves.  It’s a relief to see the band is in on what you already know: that this is great stuff. 

Rachel & The Kings’ are recording an EP set to start release in the Spring of 2014.