The Guest List
Thursday July 10th, 2025 with Joe Reilly
We talk to Nicky Bomba of the Melbourne Ska Orchestra, Ottawa singer-songwriter Claude Munson and Andrew Greene who plays trumpet with The Budos Band all at Bluesfest this week

A busy show today and this On Demand version of the show has 20 minutes of additional music and more interview segments with Nicky Bomba of the Melbourne Ska Orchestra. Enjoy! We focus on the diverse Ottawa Bluesfest lineup today with three artists appearing at the Fest. We open talking to Nicky Bomba, who leads the Melbourne Ska Orchestra. This group will consist of 18-20 members when they take to the River Stage at Ottawa Bluesfest at tonight (Thurday, July 10th) at 7:45. It will be a blast. The group performs uplifting, thought-provoking ska music with a mix of spy themes (including a great version of Get Smart!) reggae, and on their latest release spaghetti westerns and Ennio Morricone definitely influence the vibe on this record. We talk to Nicky about how The Ballad of Monte Loco came together, and what to expect when this massive ensemble take the stage at Bluesfest tonight. For more information about this ska phenomena check out: https://www.melbourneskaorchestra.com/ https://melbourneskaorchestra.bandcamp.com/ https://ottawabluesfest.ca/schedule/#/event/melbourne-ska-orchestra Then we talk to Ottawa's Claude Munson about his upcoming concert Friday at 6 p.m. on the RBC Mainstage at Ottawa's Bluesfest. He tells us about how he'll be playing some new songs during this concert opening up the stage for headline act Hozier. We also talk about the gentle nature of Claude's music and how that takes on a more robust form when he performs live. For more information about Claude Munson and his music: https://www.facebook.com/claude.munson/ https://claudemunson.bandcamp.com/album/boxing-day-weekend https://ottawabluesfest.ca/artists/#/event/claude-munson Finally we talk to Andrew Greene who plays trumpet with The Budos Band - Claude Munson's pick of the #1 group you should see at Bluesfest during this first weekend. Andrew tells us how the group creates its unique brand of instrumental music and how it has evolved from the early days when it was steeply based in Afrobeat and Ethiopian rhythms. We also talk about how The Budos Band likes to keep the tunes concise and focused in short bursts of 3 to 4 minutes. He tells us what to expect when this vibrant group plays the LeBreton Stage on Saturday at 8:15. For more information and music by The Budos Band: https://www.thebudos.com/ https://budosband.bandcamp.com/album/budos-vii https://ottawabluesfest.ca/artists/#/event/the-budos-band For more information and tickets for Bluesfest visit the festival's website: https://ottawabluesfest.ca/ Thanks for listening to the Guest List today. Get out and see some live music this week and support independent music in any way that you can. And don't forget that The Guest List is sponsored by Spaceman Music, located at 388 Gladstone Avenue, just west of Bank. Visit Spaceman for all of your music making needs and don't forget they have a great repair shop and offer music lessons. Check out Spaceman online at: https://www.spacemanmusic.com/