Through the years: Tora Bombora with Toby & Ben.

Words by Hannah Powell. Images by Fran Scrimgeour.

In the lead-up to the fourth Tora Bombora, Yo Vocal caught up with two longstanding players: Toby Leman and Ben Stewart. Having played in the line-up each year, you may have seen them on stage with HUMMUCIDE, Dr Reknaw or Half Cast. This year, you’ll find them on the sax (Toby) or tickling the keys (Ben) with bands The Gallery and Revulva. We had a chat to hear them reminisce on the last three festivals.

“It must have been 2019…we were playing in HUMMUCIDE, and Louis [the organiser] messaged us on Facebook and asked if we would like to play at the first Tora Bombora,” Toby tells me over a zoom. “We’d only been playing for eight months, so we jumped at the opportunity to play our first festival.” Once the festival was announced, it sold out.

Tora Bombora is a sustainably-focused, local music festival based on the beautifully rugged Tora Coast. A three-day boogie fest, Tora Bombora prides itself on a carefully curated line-up full of local talent. First held on a backyard deck, the festival has grown to two stages and a wonderful community. The magic remains: organiser Louis Murphy-Harris makes sure to keep the crowd small, the stages high-tech, and the three days sustainable.

Tora Bombora was a gateway into the festival circuit for Toby and Ben. Meeting other artists in the local scenes, they were quick to make friends with other like-minded musicians.

Reminiscing on their first set back in 2019, Toby and Ben tell me they were on the 12pm slot, welcoming in the excited attendees. “There’s a great photo Ben Morgan took, and it’s of us playing from behind, and you can see one member of the audience – my dad,” Toby chuckles. Ben was impressed by the number of international and ‘bigger’ acts, such as Babe Rainbow, Mako Road, and Same Name Confusion, that Louis managed to book for the first event.

In 2020, the boys rocked up with Dr Reknaw. Playing on a bigger stage that doubled as a truck, Toby and Ben said it’s one of the highest quality stages they’ve ever played on. Standing ground in the Tora wind, the stage is solid, spacious, and has a high-tech sound system. But that year, Ben fell asleep before Lord Echo and woke up regretting it, and Toby spent most of the festival inside his tent, sick.

They were glad they’d be returning for round three. HUMMUCIDE played at Tora Bombora last year, and Toby played sax with Half Cast, too. Highlights included Heavy Chest, sushi burritos, and camping with friends. The two agree on how good the festival is to return to.

“We always have a big group of friends, we all park in the same spot, and [set up] all of the vans and tents together.” Sharing memories from the festival last year, Toby and Ben begin to list the best things through the years.

With one main stage and one for DJs, a favoured component is full attention: artists get the ultimate spotlight with a singular timetable. “It’s just quite nice to have twelve bands in a line-up, and you know where they are, and everyone’s there,” says Ben.

The crew member hidden in the wings also gets an honourable mention. They’re the one who acts as messenger between artist and sound tech. And finally, the community that never fails to come back. Whether it’s the festival-goers or the artists backstage, they say it’s nice to be a part of the music community and to connect with members from other bands.

“It’s been cool to grow up musically in the Tora scene,” Toby says.

This year, they’re most excited to see Troy Kingi, MĀ, and Yurt Party. If you’re attending, be sure to catch them playing with The Gallery, a live hip-hop band from Pōneke. Ben tells me the band is “pretty mind-blowing”. Toby has his fingers crossed for another sushi burrito, and Ben is keen to boogie with his mates. Both are excited to keep the party, and the work, going. “Big shout out to Louis, and his family and team, for pulling it all together,” Ben says.

And as for those who are first-timers, the boys put together a three-step method to Tora Bombora.

Step One: prepare for wind, but twice as much as you think there will be. Think strong tents, vans, or a mattress in the car. But think sustainably, as carpooling is encouraged.

Step Two: pace yourself so you can enjoy all of the great music. Slow mornings, good food, and plenty of water will prepare you for dusky days long into the night.

Step Three: Toby says to bring someone who hasn’t had a boogie at Tora Bombora before. There’s nothing like sharing the love.

Grab your crew, pack the tent, and bring your mask. We’ll see you at Tora Bombora.