Katchafire Tickets - Have You Ever Heard of New Zealand Reggae?

It's true. It does exist. Typically you'd be used to seeing the boomerangs and didgeridoos of Down Under, but a reggae band? Naaaaah. Back in 1997, this band was formed originally as a tribute to Bob Marley. It slowly became something more, adopting the name Katchafire after an album entitled Catch a Fire by Bob Marley and the Wailers. The original lineup consisted of guitarist Grenville Bell, keyboard player and vocalist Haani Totorewa, bass guitarist Tere Ngarua, vocalist and guitarist Thompson Hohepa, guitarist and frontman Logan Bell, and drummer Jordan Bell. There was obvious talent there as Katchafire caught crowds on fire with their powerful reggae music.

Katchafire Tickets - The Music of Katchafire

The year was 2003 when they truly broke out into the mainstream with the debut album Revival, featuring the massive-selling single 'Giddy Up.' In 2005, Slow Burning came out, followed by Say What You're Thinking in 2007. This is a band that has extensively toured all over Australia, the UK, Europse, New Caledonia, and of course the United States of America, playing in festivals with other acts like Mr. Gang, Horace Andy, Moonraisers, Gentleman, Arrested Development, The Wailers, Maxi Priest, and UB40.

Katchafire Tickets - The Sound and Style of Katchafire

They were unique as far as reggae goes, adopting more instrumentation than normal. And that was a welcome unique innovation in the genre as well as the music industry. For sure, the band caught on fire in a great way with their explosion of talent.