Nicky Bomba is currently on tour to support his album “Planet Juice”, his first solo release in a musical career spanning 17 years, and will be appearing in Darwin on November 21 supported by Darwin funk band The NEO. We caught up with Nicky to chat about the tour so far, his newly announced involvement in the John Butler Trio, and his experiences performing at Indigenous cultural festivals across the Territory.

Darwin will be the final destination on the reggae artists’ current world tour, which kicked off at Merrepen Arts Festival back in May before taking him around the world – including a 2 week stint in Jamaica. Nicky also performed at this year’s Garma Festival, stopping off there between his last gig in Europe and a well deserved break back at home in Melbourne.

“Garma was wonderful,” Nicky says. “Such a beautiful part of the world, and such amazing people. I did a couple of workshops and wrote some songs with members of the community, who were great to work with.”

His live shows are often improvised, both the music and the lineup. He does have a regular band – Bomba – that he plays in with his brother, but travelling light, he finds musicians in each city he travels to and has them jam with him on stage.

“On this tour, some shows have been with the band, some shows have just been with a few musicians from the city I’m in. It has worked really well so far, and the jams are great fun, as it turns out different every time.”

For his Darwin show, Nicky will be collaborating with members of The NEO and other local musicians to bring us some smooth, funky reggae to suit these hot, humid nights.

Nicky Bomba supported by The NEO play at Darwin Entertainment Centre, Nov 21.
www.darwinentertainment.com for bookings and details.