KATHIKA Rabbit is the vocal powerhouse fronting the anarchic and theatrical Slamboree, headlining Lemonfest tomorrow (June 8).

The band originally formed as the crazy brainchild of award-winning musician Mike Freear and has evolved through many guises into a stunning spectacle of fire-juggling, sword-swallowing, magical costumes and strong thought-provoking anthems belted out by Kathika and the band.

Slamboree is often described as ‘the perfect festival band’.

Kathika said: ‘We wanted to try and create what we’d want to see at a festival. It’s a big explosion of theatre and music, all moulding together in a performance.

‘It’s all a bit crazy. I still can’t look at some of the acts at times and admit I sometimes find it terrifying – I’m there in an enormous wig and there’s people around me playing with fire. They’re all massively trained though and, considering what they do, there’s never been an accident.

‘I love seeing people’s reactions. Pete (who’s stage tricks include inserting a cordless drill bit up his nose) is so super chilled, they’re all such a lovely, crazy bunch of people.

‘We love playing festivals, and children absolutely love our shows, it’s such a big explosion of energy and lights and music.

‘When we play gigs we know it’s our fans in the audience but at festivals everyone’s there, including people who don’t know our stuff. But I think our shows are easy to latch on to. From the stage I can see groups of old punks and young children dancing – there’s something always very special about festivals.’

Slamboree originally started in Leeds around 10 years ago and Kathika joined up in 2012.

Kathika said: ‘At the beginning Mike was just grabbing people he knew – circussy people who could perform on stage. Then Lizzie came on board – she’s got an artsy and performance background – and things got a lot more theatrical to make way for bigger stages.

‘We’ve gone through a constant evolution of trial and error, and it’s been great fun.’

More delicate and shy in ‘real life’Kathika didn’t get on stage until aged 22. Real name Cathy she was transformed into Kathika Rabbit, in homage to the famous cartoon Jessica Rabbit.

She said: ‘When I was younger the first person who threw me on stage was in Manchester. I did the whole Jessica Rabbit thing and was big and busty so it stuck and I became Kathika Rabbit. It took me a long time to get up on stage but now I couldn’t imagine any other way.’

Most of the group have now migrated from the north down to Bristol. Kathika grew up in Cumbria and lived in Manchester. Band founder Mike was originally from Morecambe and Leeds.

Kathika said: ‘Mike moved to Bristol and I started coming down here a lot. I moved to Bristol about a year ago and most of us are based here now.

‘Bristol’s such a creative and musical city, similar to Manchester. It was an easy and natural progression to move down.

‘There’s some great festivals in the West Country too. We’ve just done the Shindig Weekender, then it’s Lemonfest and full swing into the summer.

‘I’ve never been to Lemonfest before so I’m really excited. I’m kind of not sure what to expect, a bit nervy, like a kid in a sweet shop checking it all out.

‘We played Chagstock nearby last year – such a lovely crew and wonderful people. We thoroughly enjoyed it.’

The band has their first album out, The Long Game, on June 1 so the Lemonfest show will include its new material.

Kathika said: ‘The album is ready to be birthed now and we’ve got some great new tunes for everyone.

‘We’ve got some great new acts and costumes, too, so we’re all ready to go.’