Two years after they released their critically acclaimed ninth studio album, Dropkick Murphys is finally launching a coast to coast tour this fall. Joining the celtic punk band for most of their tour dates will be the east coast bands Clutch and Hatebreed. The tour begins on September 20th in Dropkick Murphys’ home state of Massachusetts at the MassMutual center. The tour will end on October 15th in Seattle Washington at the WAMU Theater. On select dates, special guests Amigo the Devil and Russ Rankin of Good Riddance will be joining the tour.
Dropkick Murphys formed back in 1996 in Quincy, Massachusetts. Their celtic punk fusion sets the band apart from other rock bands of the last two decades and adds a level of uniqueness to their sound. The group rose to greater prominence in 2005 when they released their fifth studio album The Warrior’s Code. Their most popular track of the album is “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” which later became the anthem of the band.
Having been heavily inspired by Irish folk music and classic rock bands like Fall Out Boy, Dropkick Murphys takes the traditional rock sound and gives it an Irish twist by utilizing bagpipes, flute, grace notes, and a traditionally standard Irish music format. Melodically and lyrically, their music is narrative based and tells a story. This is particularly apparent on their most recent album 11 Short Stories of Pain and Glory, especially in songs like “The Lonesome Boatman” and “First Class Idiot.”. Each instrument, whether it’s the bagpipes, guitar, or drums, moves the story forward in a linear fashion.
Appropriately joining Dropkick Murphys will be Clutch, a stoner country rock group that’s been bending music genres since 1991. When listening to some of their hits like “Spacegrass” and “Electric Worry” you can hear the versatility of the band and their ability to smoothly meld electric, country, rock, and punk all into one package. Most recently, the band released their twelfth studio album Book of Bad Decisions and put out a new video for their song “Ghost Wrangler”
With the two groups will be the GRAMMY nominated band Hatebreed. The metal band has performed with acclaimed artists such as Slipknot and Slayer. Additionally, they’ve served as headliners at some of the biggest metal festivals including Ozzfest, Mayhem, and the Warped Tour.
During the tour, the groups will be stopping at the the Sea.Hear.Now Festival in Asbury Park, New Jersey and Louder Than Life in Louisville, Kentucky. Having all three unique bands in one setting will definately be something you don’t want to miss. Make sure you snag your tickets on Thursday, April 18th!
Here are the tour dates below:
9/20 Springfield, MA MassMutual Center
9/21 Erie, PA . Erie Insurance Arena
9/22 . Asbury Park, NJ . Sea.Hear.Now Festival*
9/24 Raleigh, NC . The Red Hat Amphitheater
9/25 . Charlotte, NC . Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre**
9/26 . Birmingham, AL . Avondale Brewing Company
9/28 . Louisville, KY . Louder Than Life*
9/29 Detroit, MI . Masonic Temple Theatre**
9/30 . Chicago, IL . Aragon Ballroom
10/1 . St. Paul, MN . Myth Live**
10/3 . Moorhead, MN . Bluestem Center of the Arts Amphitheatre
10/5 . Denver, CO . 1STBANK Center**
10/6 . Salt Lake City, UT . The Union Event Center
10/8 . Los Angeles, CA . Hollywood Palladium
10/9 . San Diego, CA . Park at the Park Petco Park
10/12 . Las Vegas, NV . Brooklyn Bowl #
10/14 Boise, ID . Outlaw Field at the Idaho Botanical Garden
10/15 . Seattle, WA . WAMU Theater †
* Festival date, Dropkick Murphys only
** Dropkick Murphys, Clutch, Amigo The Devil
# Dropkick Murphys, Russ Rankin of Good Riddance
† Dropkick Murphys, Clutch, Russ Rankin of Good Riddance
Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat
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