in support of the band’s ninth album, 11 Short Stories Of Pain & Glory,  Dropkick Murphys  kick off its tour tonight in Bethlehem, Penn. before finally shipping up to Boston to play a series of hometown dates.

Celtic-American punk band Dropkick Murphys have become ambassadors for Boston. Since forming in 1996, the band has sold  4 million albums worldwide with 2005’s The Warrior’s Code achieving an RIAA Gold certification and the single “I’m Shipping Up To Boston” nearing double platinum and appearing during a key moment of Martin Scorsese’s Academy Award-winning The Departed. Most recently, 2013’s Signed And Sealed In Blood netted their second consecutive Top 10 debut on the Billboard Top 200, and debuted at number 6 in Germany. They updated the Boston Red Sox anthem “Tessie” in 2004. The band created The Claddagh Fund in 2009 to help support addiction recovery as well as children’s and veterans’ organizations.

On the new album, the song “4-15-13” pays homage to the victims of the Boston Marathon Bombing. “Since that day, we felt like not taking the challenge to write a song about what we all went through would be taking the coward’s way out,” bassist Ken Casey reflects. “We put more importance on writing that piece of music than anything we’ve ever done, because if you’re going to touch that day, it has to be done right. We went through so many emotions with that whole experience, as did everyone in Boston. It changed the city forever.” The song “Rebels With A Cause” was written about kids who are given up on, and left behind by a system that has written them off as hopeless. “Paying My Way” is about the way up and out of addiction and the dream of bigger and better things in life.

Dropkick Murphys is:

Al Barr (lead vocals)
Tim Brennan (guitars, accordion, mellotron, whistles, vocals)
Ken Casey (lead vocals, bass guitar)
Jeff DaRosa (banjo, bouzouki, mandolin, harmonica, acoustic guitars, vocals)
Matt Kelly (drums, percussion, vocals)
James Lynch (guitar, vocals)

TOUR DATES:

2/21/17 – Bethlehem, PA – Sands Bethlehem Event Center *+
2/22/17 – Columbus, OH – Express Live! *+
2/24/17 – Clive, IA – 7 Flags Event Center *+
2/25/17 – Hinckley, MN – The Grand Minnesota Taste Together *
2/26/17 – Sioux Falls, SD – The District *+
2/28/17 – Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theater *+
3/1/17 – Tulsa, OK – Cain’s Ballroom *+
3/2/17 – Little Rock, AK – Metroplex Live *+
3/3/17 – Robinsonville, MS – Horseshoe Tunica – Bluesville *+
3/4/17 – Birmingham, AL – Iron City *+
3/6/17 – St. Petersburg, FL – Janus Live *
3/7/17 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Revolution Live *
3/8/17 – Lake Buena Vista, FL – House of Blues *
3/10/17 – Myrtle Beach, SC – House of Blues *+
3/11/17 – Washington, DC – Shamrockfest Dropkick Murphys ONLY
3/12/17 – Huntington, NY – The Paramount *+
3/15/17 – Boston, MA – House of Blues
3/16/17 – Boston, MA – House of Blues
3/17/17 – Boston, MA – House of Blues
3/18/17 – Boston, MA – Agganis Arena
3/18/17 – Boston, MA – After Party @ House Of Blues with Pro Boxing
3/19/17 – Boston, MA – TBA