Katchafire are raging across the United States.
The New Zealand seven-piece roots and reggae band have spent the last five weeks burning up the roads on their first US tour.
“This tour is pretty full on. There isn’t much time for sight-seeing but we managed to see the bean (the Cloud gate sculpture) in Chicago which was dope,” says the group’s Logan Bell.
“The ark in St. Louis was amazing and our LA show was right next to the Staples Centre in a venue called Nokia, which was very posh.
“It’s pretty much been seven-hour rides through middle America to get to a new city/state and play for some more masses. That’s honestly the highlight. Vegas was cool.”
The all- Maori-band from Hamilton kicked off in Hawaii on April 4 in support of their Best So Far album, which peaked at No 4 on Billboard magazine’s reggae charts.
Along the way, they’ve been name-checked on Reggaeville, the global online home for all things reggae and are featured on the limited edition vinyl compilation Progressive Roots Volume 001, which is available only at the California Roots Music & Arts Festival, where Katchafire wind up their tour next week.
And they’ve made an impact on the NFL with members of the Chicago Bears turning up en masse to their Chicago show.
“That was planned,” Bell says. “They reached out to us. Some of the team are Polynesian and are fans of the band.”
After the US, Katchafire head across the Atlantic to set Europe on fire. They are planning a full New Zealand tour for August/September.
