Dropkick Murphys have announced additional U.S. tour dates and shows in the UK. The band will return to the West Coast to play San Diego (October 11 & 12), Las Vegas (October 14) and Los Angeles (October 15). Tickets for the Los Angeles show go on sale Friday, July 8 and tickets for the San Diego and Las Vegas shows go on sale Saturday, July 9. Go to www.DropkickMurphys.com for details.
In addition, Dropkick Murphys have confirmed overseas gigs in 2012, adding shows in Liverpool (February 8), London (February 10) and Glasgow (February 11).
Meanwhile, tickets for Dropkick Murphys’ September 8 and 9 landmark hometown shows at Boston’s Fenway Park (home of the Red Sox) sold out in less than one hour this week. A portion of the proceeds from the two Dropkick Murphys at Fenway with Special Guests The Mighty Mighty Bosstones shows (which are pending city approval) will benefit the Massachusetts 9/11 Fund–which helps support families of victims of 9/11 throughout the state–as well as the band’s charity, The Claddagh Fund.
The critically-acclaimed group–known for their complex distillation of classic punk rock, Celtic folk and American rock ‘n’ roll–are touring in support of their Going Out In Style CD (Born & Bred Records/ILG), which debuted at #6 on the Billboard 200–the group’s highest chart debut to date.
In other news, there are a few days remaining in Deering Banjos’ Dropkick Murphys Goodtime Tenor Banjo giveaway. The sweepstakes runs through Monday, July 11 and can be entered online at: http://www.deeringbanjos.com/dropkick-murphys-banjo-sweepstakes.
Dropkick Murphys continue to receive accolades from the media for their live show. Here’s a sample of recent critical praise.
“What makes a Dropkicks show so different than other concerts is that the rockers are an everyman band–evidenced by a diverse crowd that spanned from 15 years old to folks over 50 who were there and weren’t chaperones. The band’s songs take universal themes of family and class struggle and love and put them to music you can pogo to…But the biggest thing that makes going to a Dropkick Murphys show more like a family reunion than a formal concert is the band’s interactivity with the crowd…That’s what makes the Dropkick Murphys so vital–it’s not just going to a concert, but being part of an experience, from the time the crowd shouted the repeated refrain of ‘Let’s Go Murphys!’ before the curtain was pulled back to the wild rush of fans streaming back onto the floor for the final song of ‘Boys on the Docks.’”
–Vanessa Franko, Press Enterprise, July 2, 2011
“…Dropkick Murphys’ late-afternoon set was the perfect celebration…The group’s new album Going Out in Style provided some of its best original material: blue-collar workers rights were the focus of the propulsive folk-rocker ‘Take ‘Em Down’; the band offered up an emotive version of ‘Cruel.’ Other highlights included the energetic ‘Peg o’ My Heart’ and the bagpipes-anchored title track, with its punk attack and infectious chorus. Well-placed covers included a super-fast version of the traditional tune ‘The Irish Rover’ and, later in the set, a rowdy take on AC/DC‘s ‘T.N.T.’ For that one, lead singer Al Barr (above) conjured Bon Scott as the Hootenanny faithful were suddenly transformed into a mass of fist-pumping headbangers.”
–Robert Kinsler, Orange County Register, July 3, 2011
“The Dropkicks played an energetic set, with Barr zooming from one end of the stage to the other, flat cap atop his head, fists pumping along with his gruff growl. The rest of the band zig-zagged across the stage as well, not just standing in front the same microphone the whole set, but using any of the four set up across the front of the stage. The band changed up the tempos throughout the night which kept things interesting, from the pounding hardcore of ‘Citizen C.I.A.,’ which sent the pit into a frenzy, to ‘Take ‘Em Down’ from the band’s latest LP, an acoustic anthem for a blue-collar workforce.”
–Dave Lake, Seattle Weekly, June 28, 2011
“They are a true headliner, taking control of wherever they play quickly and gripping it hard until they power down…The mix of traditional folk instruments like banjo with loud electric guitars and a punishing (in a good way) rhythm section is devastatingly effective – punk in spirit but pub ready…”
–Dennis Cook, Jambase.com, June 15, 2011
Catch Dropkick Murphys—Al Barr (lead vocals), Tim Brennan (guitars, accordion, whistle, vocals), Ken Casey (lead vocals, bass guitar), Jeff DaRosa (banjo, bouzouki, mandolin, harmonica, vocals), Matt Kelly (drums, vocals), James Lynch (guitar, vocals), and Scruffy Wallace (bagpipes)–on the road in the following cities:
Date City Venue
Friday, July 8 Milwaukee, WI Summerfest
Sunday, July 10 Ottawa, ONT Cisco Ottawa Blues Fest
Monday, July 11 Quebec City, QC Festival d’été de Québec
Wednesday, July 27 Sayreville, NJ Starland Ballroom
Thursday, July 28 Montclair, NJ Wellmont Theatre
Friday, July 29 Essex Junction, VT Midway Lawn at Champlain Valley Expo Center
Saturday, July 30 Syracuse, NY Krockathon (NYS Fairgrounds)
Monday, August 1 St. John’s, NL George Street Festival
Wednesday, August 3 Halifax, NS Multipurpose Centre
Thursday, August 4 Moncton, NB Oxygen Nightclub
Friday, August 5 Montreal, QC Metropolis
Saturday, August 6 Collingwood, ON Wakestock (Millennium Park, Collingwood Harbour)
Friday, August 12 Püttlingen, Germany Rocco Del Schlacko
Saturday, August 13 Eschwege, Germany Open Flair
Sunday, August 14 Rothenburg, Germany Taubertal
Friday, August 19 St. Pölten, Austria Frequency Festival
Saturday, August 20 Lüdinghausen, Germany Area 4
Sunday, August 21 Großpösna, Germany Highfield
Thursday, September 8 Boston, MA Fenway Park
Friday, September 9 Boston, MA Fenway Park
Tuesday, October 11 San Diego, CA House Of Blues
Wednesday, October 12 San Diego, CA House Of Blues
Friday, October 14 Las Vegas, NV Hard Rock Casino
Saturday, October 15 Los Angeles, CA The Palladium
Wednesday, February 8 Liverpool, UK O2 Academy
Friday, February 10 London, UK The Roundhouse
Saturday, February 11 Glasgow, Scotland Barrowlands
