Dropkick Murphys

About Dropkick Murphys

Dropkick Murphys came out of Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996, and they've spent almost three decades proving that Celtic punk isn't just a gimmick when you actually mean it. Mike McColgan, Ken Casey, Rick Barton, and a couple other guys started the band in a basement, taking their name from a detox center and their sound from The Clash, The Pogues, and the working-class Irish neighborhoods around Boston.

McColgan left after their first album to become a firefighter, which is extremely on-brand. Al Barr from The Bruisers took over vocals in 1998, and that's when the lineup solidified into something that could actually tour relentlessly. Their early stuff on Hellcat Records was raw street punk with bagpipes and tin whistles thrown in, but it wasn't cosplay. These were actual Boston guys with actual Irish roots making music for dock workers and union halls.

The breakthrough came slowly, then all at once. Do or Die in 1998 and The Gang's All Here in 1999 built their reputation in the punk scene, but Sing Loud, Sing Proud in 2001 was where they figured out how to write anthems. The title track became a staple. Then Blackout in 2003 gave them "Walk Away" and "Time to Go," songs that college kids and punks could both claim.

"I'm Shipping Up to Boston" changed everything. The song appeared on The Warrior's Code in 2005, and when Martin Scorsese dropped it into The Departed in 2006, they became the band every drunk person knows. It's built on old Woody Guthrie lyrics and sounds like a bar fight set to music. They've probably played it ten thousand times and they'll play it ten thousand more.

The thing about Dropkick Murphys is they never really chased cool. They kept making albums every few years, each one sounding pretty much like what you'd expect. Going Out in Style in 2011 was a concept album about a fictional Irish-American gangster. Signed and Sealed in Blood in 2013 had "Rose Tattoo" and "The Season's Upon Us," a Christmas song about dysfunctional families that's more honest than any of the standards.

They've stayed weirdly consistent. 11 Short Stories of Pain & Glory in 2017, Turn Up That Dial in 2021, Okemah Rising in 2023—they just keep showing up, playing loud, and selling out the same venues year after year. They do a big St. Patrick's Day run in Boston every year, and it's less a concert than a civic tradition at this point.

Ken Casey still fronts the band and runs their own label. They've survived lineup changes, shifting music industry economics, and the basic problem of being a punk band that got popular. They played to an empty Fenway Park during the pandemic and livestreamed it. They're not cool anymore, if they ever were, but they're still here.

Crowd participation is mandatory. The entire venue will sing along to every chorus, often drowning out the band. People pack forward from the back of the room. There's a lot of beer spilling and fist-pumping. The energy is sustained and communal rather than intense—more "we're all in this together" than mosh pit chaos.

Known for Shipping Up to Boston, The Dirty Glass, I'm Shipping Up to Boston, Tessie, The Boys Are Back

See Dropkick Murphys Live