Australian ska juggernaut, Melbourne Ska Orchestra is celebrating its 21st birthday in 2024.
The up to 26-piece band, fronted by the infectiously charismatic Nicky Bomba, will bring the birthday party to every corner of mainland Australia, with a 13-date tour from mid August through to mid October.The run of shows will visit capital cities Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Adelaide as well as major metro and regional centres Cairns, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Newcastle, Wollongong, Castlemaine, Margaret River, and Fremantle.
The ARIA Award-winning collective (winning Best World Music Album in 2016 and 2019) have released seven studio albums, their most recent being the ambitious 2019 project they dubbed '52 Fridays' and released as 'Transmission Friday's', where the band wrote and recorded a new song each week throughout 2019.
"It's been quite an amazing journey so far," Bomba says. "This whole ramshackle thing we call the Orchestra was created from a love of ska and the fun vibes surrounding it all. We had no idea it would translate so well with everyone, and it still feels like we have a lot more to create."
Earlier this year, Melbourne Ska Orchestra collaborated with blues-rock legends The Black Sorrows, covering Taylor Swift's 'I Know You Were Trouble'. MSO also released a new tune, 'Aston Is The Man', a tribute to Aston 'Family Man' Barrett who was the band leader of Bob Marley's backing band who passed away in early 2024.
"As always the MSO show is a bit of a spectacular time with great tunes, up vibes, energising grooves and a real connection with the crowd," shares Bomba. "We believe a strong interaction with the audience is vital to great experience.
"It's always a military operation getting this band on the road, much like a soccer team playing in the national competition. So, when all the planets align and we're actually on the plane and in the bus and doing soundcheck, it's really a ready-made family party. We always have fun.
"We usually go out with a touring party of 20-plus. That's a lot of rooms, airfares and a hefty catering expense. I feel sorry for our tour manager sometimes, but thankfully he has a happy disposition!"
Tickets are on sale.
Melbourne Ska Orchestra 2024 Tour Dates
Fri 16 Aug - Tanks Arts Centre (Cairns)Fri 23 Aug - The Brightside Outdoors (Brisbane)
Sat 24 Aug - The Station (Sunshine Coast)
Sun 25 Aug - Soundlounge (Gold Coast)
Thu 29 Aug - King Street Bandroom (Newcastle)
Fri 30 Aug - Waves (Wollongong)
Sat 31 Aug - Metro Theatre (Sydney)
Sun 1 Sep - The Basement (Canberra)
Sat 14 Sep - Theatre Royal (Castlemaine)
Fri 20 Sep - The River (Margaret River)
Sat 21 Sep - Freo.Social (Fremantle)
Fri 4 Oct - 170 Russell (Melbourne)
Sat 19 Oct - Hindley Street Music Hall (Adelaide)
