Katchafire cancel concert

Katchafire have cancelled their Masterton show at Vibe, a business which went into liquidation last month. Photo / Emily Norman

New Zealand roots and reggae legends Katchafire have cancelled their Masterton show, scheduled to be at a venue which went into liquidation last month.

The band cancelled its show at The Vibe Masterton on Monday night, citing "circumstances regarding the venue which is beyond our control".

According to the Companies Office Directory, the Chapel St business had been in liquidation since May 16, had ceased trading in April, and no longer had employees.

Katchafire's booking agent Ara Adams-Tamatea said they were not aware of this fact when they cancelled the show

"Liquidation wasn't the reason, we had no idea about that, but it explains a hell of a lot," he said.

"I thought ah, that's why all of these things are happening. I wasn't given the full clear picture from the venue that it was liquidated but it makes sense now." Mr Adams-Tamatea said it was only the second time in more than 16 years Katchafire had been forced to cancel a show.

"What I will say is this cancellation had nothing to do with the band. The band was ready to come, we were ready to go. What came to light on Monday meant that even if we got there on Saturday, we couldn't have done the show."

He said The Vibe Masterton was chosen as the venue because King Street Live had closed down earlier this year and Katchafire had still wanted to play Wairarapa on their Burn it Down Tour.

He said the band had considered finding another Wairarapa venue but that "only four days lead-in time was too much risk for us with the money we have to spend to put on shows".

"So we thought we'd wipe the slate clean and get the word out there that we're not going to be down there."

Mr Adams-Tamatea said Katchafire "definitely" had plans to put on a show in Wairarapa within the year, but did not know any venues they could play.

The Wairarapa Times-Age tried to contact The Vibe Masterton's director but he was not able to be reached.

Mr Adams-Tamatea said he was "gutted" that prominent live music venues in Wairarapa such as King Street Live had closed but said a similar pattern of decline had hit the whole country in recent years.

"People don't have a lot of money in towns and therefore the venues can't cope," he said.

"We have seen a huge decline in venues we used to play at, and there are a number of venues around New Zealand that we just can't play at anymore because we're losing money putting on shows in towns where people can't support the shows by coming out.

"Our ticket price is too dear or people just don't have enough money. Going out to concerts is a luxury and when you're faced with the price of kids, or food, just the basics, going out is the first thing that gets crossed off the list."

He hoped "we will be able to get some of those venues back again".