Kings Kaleidoscope to Perform at OBU April 9

March 29, 2016

Popular faith-based alternative band Kings Kaleidoscope will perform in concert Saturday, April 9, in Raley Chapel’s Potter Auditorium on the campus of Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee. The concert will begin at 8 p.m. and doors open at 7.

Tickets are $12 and may be purchased at kingskaleidoscope.com.

Based in Seattle, Washington, Kings Kaleidoscope is made up of Chad Gardener, guitar and keyboard; Andrew Nyte, drums; John Platter, drums and percussion; Zack Walkingstick, bass; Nadia Essenpreis, keyboard, violin and accordion; Lindsay Gardner, cello and keyboard; Julianne Smith, violin and saxophone; Zawadi Morrow, keyboard, flute and violin; Blake Strickland, trombone; and Jared Buck, guitar. Additionally, all members contribute vocals in various capacities during the songs.

Led by singer/songwriter Chad Gardner, the group formed in 2010 at Mars Hill Church where Gardner was a worship leader. Looking for a big, orchestral indie pop sound, he slowly assembled the ten-piece group, handpicking players from within the church and developing their lush sound a bit more every week. Sporting a variety of influences from math rock and hip-hop to the dense sound of Canadian indie outfit Broken Social Scene, Kings Kaleidoscope recorded their first live EP, “Sin,” in 2011. A year later, the studio EP “Asaph's Arrows” arrived and in late 2012 they issued the Christmas-themed EP “Joy Has Dawned.”

In early 2013, Gardner and the band announced they were leaving Mars Hill where they had been both worship leaders and artists on the church's label. Their fourth EP, 2014's “Live in Color,” was released by Bad Christian Records, a label formed by Seattle post-hardcore band Emery. Working with both Bad Christian and well-established indie Tooth & Nail, King's Kaleidoscope finally issued their debut LP, “Becoming Who We Are,” in November 2014.