Photo / Katchafire - Love Today
NZ reggae group Katchafire has missed out on a Grammy nomination but continues to be a hit on streaming giant Spotify. They join a whānau of NZ bands with Māori members who have topped this year's most-streamed Kiwi acts.
In October Katchafire got fans excited when they posted that they had made the initial ballot to decide nominations for the American Grammy Awards.
The group were due to find out last Thursday (NZ Time) whether their new album Legacy had made the Best Reggae Album nominees.
However, the official announcement was pushed back until the weekend as a mark of respect for the funeral of former US President George H.W. Bush.
Unfortunately, Katchafire did not make the final cut when the 2019 Grammy Nominations were eventually made public on Saturday.
Instead, the Recording Association gave the nod to Black Uhuru (for their album As The World Turns), Etana (Reggae Forever), Ziggy Marley (Rebellion Rises), Protoje (A Matter Of Time) and Sting & Shaggy (44/876).
Even so, it has been a hugely positive past few days for Katchafire.
The group has made Spotify's 2018 list of the top-five most streamed Kiwi acts locally - coming in at no. 3 behind Six60 and Lorde at one and two.
They join a whānau of NZ bands with Māori members who have topped the list of most-streamed Kiwi acts this year, including Six60, Sons of Zion, and Fat Freddy's Drop (who also made the top five).
Just last month Six60 took home five Vodafone Music Awards, while Sons of Zion won best roots album.
On Instagram Katchafire thanked their supporters, saying "big up to all our fans in the trenches with us and getting behind Katchafire and our quest to put reggea (sic) music on the plates wherever it is needed worldwide".
Meanwhile, the band has recently announced its "Fyah In The Trenches" tour of the USA in January and February.
The tour will celebrate the release of the new video for "Fyah In The Trenches", the fifth single from their album.