Melbourne Ska Orchestra are an ARIA Award-winning Australian ska band formed in 2003 in Melbourne. The group has up to 34 members, and is led by bandleader Nicky Bomba, formerly of the John Butler Trio. The band are signed to FOUR FOUR, an imprint of ABC Music.
Background The Melbourne Ska Orchestra was created by musician Nicky Bomba and radio presenter Mohair Slim. The band's inaugural performance was on 31 May 2003 to a sold out crowd at The Esplanade Hotel's Gershwin Room, in St Kilda.
The eponymous Melbourne Ska Orchestra album was released to rave reviews in 2013 and picked up two ARIA nominations that year.
The band have toured extensively, including festival appearances at Bluesfest, Golden Plains, Vivid, Caloundra, Queenscliff, and AWME. In addition to touring in Australia, the band has built an overseas fan base. The band sold out their debut London show, appeared on the bill for the Glastonbury Festival and played a headline set to a crowd 50,000 at the Montreal Jazz Festival during their 2014 tour. The band has performed in Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, USA, Canada, and Turkey, and has appeared in television commercials in Australia and Japan.
The band released their second album Sierra Kilo Alpha in April 2016, embarking on a national tour to support it. Sierra Kilo Alpha won the 2016 ARIA Award for Best World Music Album. The band released a follow-up called Saturn Return in late 2016. Saturn Return comprises a selection of songs from the same recording session as Sierra Kilo Alpha and was released on a rocket-shaped USB drive.
In 2018, the band announced that they would release one song every week (each Friday, hence "52 Fridays") for an entire year. At the end of 2019, the entire 52-week series of single releases was successfully concluded with the song "Magnolia Springtime". The resulting collection, One Year of Ska, won the ARIA Award for Best World Music Album in 2019.
The band draws inspiration from many elements of the ska genre, from the Jamaican movement through to UK Two Tone, as well as present day Latino Ska.
They are signed to FOUR FOUR, an imprint of ABC Music.
Members Members of the band include:
Nicky Bomba Barry Deenick Rodrigo Pino Dorian West Antonio Milillo Michael Caruana Michael Havir Stephen Phillips George Servanis Dave Joseph Elvis Aljus Lennox Jordan Steven Montgomery Pat Powell Paul Coyle Patrick Cronin David Henry Sarah Heffernan Theodore Kazan Dean Hilson Justin Forster Robert Calvert Peter Mitchell Laurance Bongailas Anthony Hicks Sally Ford Peter Slipper Kynan Robinson Wally Maloney Michael Boase Jake Savona Cam Hassard Piers Gooding Russell Roberts Stuart Ferguson Ed Farrar Dan Kerr Jessica Jacobs Anna Gordon
Mohair Slim was previously a member of the band.
Discography Studio albums Title Details Melbourne Ska Orchestra Released: 2013 Label: Four Four (3729304) Format: CD, 2xLP, digital download Sierra Kilo Alpha Released: April 2016 Label: Four Four (4736063) Format: CD, LP, digital download Saturn Return Released: 2016 Label: Melbourne Ska Orchestra Format: USB digital download Unreleased recordings from the Sierra Kilo Alpha sessions Ska Classics Released: May 2018 Label: ABC Music Format: digital download TV & Movie Themes Released: July 2018 Label: ABC Music Format: digital download Read All About It! Released: October 2018 Label: ABC Music Format: digital download Transmission Fridays Released: March 2019 Label: ABC Music Format: digital download The Ballad of Monte Loco Released: June 2025 Label: ABC Music Format: CD, LP, digital download Monte Loco Rides Again Released: August 2026 Label: ABC Music Format: CD, LP, digital download
Live albums Title Details Live at The Triffid Released: May 2020 Label: Melbourne Ska Orchestra, ABC Music Format: digital download
Compilation albums Title Details One Year of Ska Released: 2019 Label: Four Four Music (7762177) Format: 4xCD, digital download 20 Years Young Released: 10 March 2023 Label: Four Four Music (FOUR0005) Format: CD, digital download
Awards and nominations AIR Awards The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.
! |- | rowspan="1"| 2026 | rowspan="1"| The Ballad of Monte Loco | Best Independent Blues and Roots Album or EP
| rowspan="1"| |} ARIA Awards
Melbourne Ska Orchestra won Best World Music Album in 2016 and 2019.
| 2013 || Nicky Bomba and Robin Mai - Melbourne Ska Orchestra || Engineer of the Year || |- | 2013 || Melbourne Ska Orchestra || Best Blues & Roots Album || |- | 2014 || The Diplomat Tour || Best Australian Live Act|| |- | 2016 || Sierra Kilo Alpha || Best World Music Album|| |- | 2017 || Saturn Return || Best World Music Album || |- | 2018 || Ska Classics || Best World Music Album || |- | 2019 || One Year of Ska || Best World Music Album || |- | 2020 || Live at the Triffid || Best World Music Album || |- | 2026 || Monte Loco Rides Again || Best World Music Album ||
Music Victoria Awards The Music Victoria Awards are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2006.
! |- | 2013 | Melbourne Ska Orchestra | Best Global or Reggae Act | |rowspan="3"| |- | 2016|| Melbourne Ska Orchestra || Best Global or Reggae Act || |- | 2018|| Melbourne Ska Orchestra || Best Global or Reggae Act || |- | 2023 | Melbourne Ska Orchestra | Best Reggae and Dancehall Work
| 2024 | Melbourne Ska Orchestra | Best Reggae and Dancehall Work | |rowspan="1"|
References
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