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Bombadil Produces Musical Mania
By Jeff EasonConsidering that Durham is the fourth largest city in the state, it rarely registers with music lovers when it comes to being the hometown of great new bands. That might soon change with the emergence of Bombadil, a talented four-piece acoustic outfit that had its beginnings at Duke University.
Bombadil has been described as “the Wiggles meet the Squirrel Nut Zippers with a dash of Monty Python and Dr. Seuss surrealism.” On stage the four young Durham lads mix it up with a high-energy set that combines xylophones, accordions, kazoos, glockenspiels and other odd acoustic instruments.
Bombadil will appear at the Boone Saloon on Thursday, May 31st starting at 10:30 p.m. The band Good Fool, Loose Broom will open the show. Tickets are on sale now.
Bombadil features recent Duke graduates Bryan Rahija, Stuart Robinson and Daniel Michalak, plus UNC-Chapel Hill student John Michalak. The band was initially inspired in Bolivia when Bryan and Daniel were studying abroad in 2005. The two musicians began to play together and record music at an elementary school in the South American country. When the two returned to the United States, they recruited Daniel’s brother John and his friend Stuart Robinson to fill in on drums and keyboards, respectively.
The four band members wear fedoras and suspenders on stage, a trademark inspired by the style of older Bolivian men.
The band turned heads last year opening for the fast-rising act The Avett Brothers. Both bands are on the Ramseur Records roster and share a youthful exuberance that produces a frenzied response from their audiences.
Last year the band released the five-song EP and looks to return to the recording studio this year.