On Sunday 14 July, Readings is hosting the explosive, lively Melbourne Ska Orchestra for a live performance at Readings Carlton. I met with Nicky Bomba, the director of Melbourne Ska Orchestra, to talk about how his entire multi-piece orchestra was going to navigate the Readings Carlton bookshop.

‘We could have the brass section popping out of philosophy,’ he said, ‘And the drummer emerging from the history section.’
‘Hmm,’ I said. ‘Let’s keep it simple and only release a limited number of tickets. We will close the shop and open a bar in the cookbook section.’
‘Okay,’ said Nicky Bomba. ‘Let’s make sure everyone dances.’
‘That,’ I said, ‘Seems very reasonable behaviour for an after-hours Sunday eve funk gig in a bookshop that has been there for 50 years in the middle of Carlton. Let’s do it.’

When

: 9pm, Sunday 14 July

Where:

Readings Carlton

– please enter via the Tyne Street laneway, not the main shop entrance

How much:

$35 (includes a copy of Melbourne Ska Orchestra on vinyl) – book

here

Tickets are selling fast, and we hope to see you there!

Find out more about the event here and book tickets here. Find out more about Melbourne Ska Orchestra here, and you can find our full events calendar here.

Chris Gordon is the programming and events manager for Readings.