Author: Joshua Cannon

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Music Music Blog

Wilco, R.E.M. Join Big Star’s Jody Stephens for Third Tribute

Commercial success came late for Big Star. That ’70s Show renewed recognition for the band by transforming 1972’s “In The Street” from their debut album #1 Record into Cheap Trick’s “That ’70s Song,” which served as the show’s anthem. Prior to that, Big Star largely remained a musician’s band.

#1 Record was heralded by critics as a dynamic debut that would push the band into the limelight — Rolling Stone called it “exceptionally good … one of the sleepers of 1972” — but attention never sparked. Big Star’s sophomore effort Radio City performed no better, and coupled with tumultuous relationships within the band, they fizzled away.

Enter Big Star’s Third album, Sister Lovers. R.E.M.’s Mike Mills, Yo La Tengo’s Ira Kaplan, Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy and Pat Sansone, Jessica Pratt, and Kronos Quartet, among others, will join Jody Stephens on April 27 to perform the record in it’s entirety at the Alex Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Conductor Carl Marsh, who orchestrated the album in 1974, will lead a full chamber orchestra. Stephens will also be joined by Big Star members Jon Auer and Ken Stingfellow for additional songs from Radio City and #1 Record. 

Though Big Star’s sound defined power-pop before the genre found footing, whatever pretension existed on their first two albums dissolved with Third/Sister Lovers. The cult album captured an emotionally volatile Alex Chilton. Jim Dickinson helmed production, and with the collaboration of Chilton and Stephens among a team of memphis music heavyweights, Sister Lovers serves as the most musically daring of the band’s career. Tracks like “Thank You, Friends” and Stephens’ penned “For You” are as accessible as anything from their first two albums, but tucked between slow-burners such as “Kangaroo” and “Holocaust” — which served as an entrance for Chilton’s experimental solo efforts that would later follow. 

Watch Jody Stephens perform “Blue Moon” from Big Star’s Third/Sister Lovers below:

Wilco, R.E.M. Join Big Star’s Jody Stephens for Third Tribute

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News The Fly-By

Inaugural Muslim Culture Fest Aims To Dispel Myths About Islam

Since 2003, two years after the September 11th terrorist attacks, the Muslims in Memphis (MIM) project has been working to dispel myths and negative stereotypes about Islam and the Muslim community.

They’ve made strides, MIM representative Angie Odeh says, but misinformation still permeates society — 55 percent of Americans have an unfavorable opinion of Islam, a YouGov poll found. Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump’s recent call for a ban on all Muslim immigrants entering the United States has further fueled Islamophobia.

In an attempt to counter that, MIM will host its inaugural MusliMeMfest on March 26th at Agricenter International. The Flyer spoke with Odeh about MIM’s plan to educate people in a light, fun environment and how Memphians can further bridge communities throughout the Mid-South. — Joshua Cannon

Angie Odeh

Flyer: What can people expect at MusliMeMfest?

Angie Odeh: We will have a silent auction of arts and crafts where the proceeds will go to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. There will be food and dessert vendors from different nationalities. We will have family fun activities including hot-air balloon rides. You might want to stop by our Q&A table to stump the imam with any question you’ve wanted to ask. A bazaar will have things both exotic and domestic. There will be ethnic dancing and poetry recitation. The poetry will be judged by live judges, and listeners in the audience will be able to text their votes in.

In such a hostile political climate, with Trump spewing misinformation and hate speech about Muslims, what are some of the biggest myths about Islam and Muslims that need to be dispelled?

Some have said we hate America. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Muslims in Memphis love America. Many of us are from here and are not foreigners. For us, we have chosen this as a religion, but we were raised in this country and love it. Others come as immigrants, like our ancestors, and just want to be able to achieve their dreams as others who have come before them. Our religion tells us that when we go to a new place to live that we are under the authority of that government and that we must obey the laws of that new place.

What steps can Memphians take to bridge communities of different backgrounds and faiths?

When the only knowledge we have of other groups is from the small sampling in the media, we will always come to the wrong conclusions. It may start with demonizing one group, but when that is allowed to happen, all groups are vulnerable. We have to get to know one another. Differences are what have made this country great. Differences make us work harder to understand. Differences bring creative solutions — they let us get to know people who are different than ourselves.

How has MIM brought visibility to the Memphis Muslim community?

We have had a strong interfaith movement that has allowed us to get to know each other. One part of that movement has been MIM. Through our various events over the years, we have tried to show who we are in a desire to be integral members of the community. Our mosque open houses, like one that we had on March 5th, are one example of bringing visibility to our Muslim community. Five of the area mosques were open for tours, talks, Q&A, and, as always, great food. The response from our non-Muslim neighbors was so great.

We are working with Heartsong Church on a community park called Friendship Park. Throughout the year, we offer free health fairs with screenings. We have a discounted Muslim clinic, and we have a food pantry serving the needy.

Additionally, we have many physicians, teachers in all levels of academia, and businesses. St. Jude’s funding arm is ALSAC, which stands for American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities. Many, if not most, of the American Lebanese Syrians are Muslims.

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News The Fly-By

Local Game Developers Working on New Alien Invasion Game

CREDIT: Memphis Game Developers

After Lindsey Warren donated $10 to video game developer Ernest McCracken’s GoFundMe campaign for his latest game Fallen Space, she commented, “Maybe someday Memphis will be the next game development mecca.”

McCracken hopes so.

“I have aspirations to make it that,” McCracken, 33, an IBM application architect and University of Memphis professor, said. “More and more developers are moving to Memphis. I think that it is not just possible but very probable that Memphis will start see more of a spotlight in game development.”

On behalf of Memphis Game Developers (MGD), McCracken has immersed himself in the world of independent game developing over the past few years. Population III: Fallen Space, his creation, is an open-world survival game: A player is caught in the midst of a Terran Empire’s collapse caused by the invasion of a never-before-seen alien species. Fallen Space is conceptualized, but “MGD’s artistic side is severely lacking,” McCracken admits. They’ll commission local artists to bring it to life — if they can raise $1,600.

Memphis Game Developers

An image from Population III: Fallen Space

“It’s important to work with local artists, and we are very locally minded,” McCracken said. “The plan is four character portraits, eight to 12 faction emblems, and numerous alien poses, all in 2D. If we get to the $1,000 mark, I plan on matching donations up to the goal. [Right now], we rely on art we purchase online, but most of it is not unique or high quality.”

McCracken formed Memphis Game Developers with Devitt Upkins and Nick Day nearly two years ago. The initial goal was to better understand game development through collaboration. They started meeting at Midsouth Makers, where Day was a member.

“We mostly sparked each other’s interest by showing off things we created and showing each other how to find resources on the Internet to enable developing the types of games we liked,” McCracken says.

MGD soon gained sponsorship from Unity Technologies, a development platform for 2D and 3D indie gaming, and became the official Memphis chapter of the Unity Users Group. They now host workshops and lectures for about 200 members.

Though the plan wasn’t always to become a developer, McCracken’s enthusiasm for video games dates back to childhood. Atari’s Joust sparked his interest at age 6, and it was multiplayer games built on Bulletin Board System software that opened his mind to development. Still, McCracken was a late bloomer.

“It wasn’t until meeting with other developers that my interest in video game development really took off,” McCracken says. “I was going to be a network engineer, but I started writing programs to visually map out network diagrams and started dabbling in 3D graphics engines. It was then that I changed from network engineering to application development.”

If McCracken’s ambitions are realized, it’s because technology’s rapid acceleration paved the way for those like Memphis Game Developers to experiment. Platforms like Steam, a site that delivers a variety of games to a user’s computer, allow indie game developers to digitally distribute their products to a broader audience.

“If someone wanted to create video games before Steam, they needed to be able to not just make a game, but create the packaging for it, burn the game to a DVD, create instruction booklets, and then find retail stores to stock the game,” McCracken said. “Not to mention the huge financial commitment to make and distribute all that packaging. Steam and digital distribution allowed indie developers to forgo all that.”

When his aspirations materialize, McCracken plans to expand MGD at home.

“I love this city,” McCracken said. “If Fallen Space becomes a great success, I plan on staying in Memphis. Many successful studios move out West, but all of us plan on investing locally.”

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News The Fly-By

MATA Board to Consider Service Changes

Following an announcement from Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) CEO Ron Garrison that the city’s bus system could collapse without additional funding, the transit authority will vote on various service changes as MATA prepares for an upcoming fiscal year looming with uncertainty.

“We are mostly concerned with the future,” said Sammie Hunter, the co-chair of the Memphis Bus Riders Union. “This is nothing compared to what we might face in July if MATA does not receive the funding request they made to the city. People need access to the whole city to have better options and improve their situation.”

Three timing changes, six service changes, eight routing changes, the removal of the President’s Island route (which carried less than five riders for all of February), and five new routes are tucked away in MATA’s proposed changes. MATA’s board will vote on the changes on March 21st, and, if approved, the changes will go into effect on May 1st.

The changes are a cost-neutral plan to address Memphians’ concerns about on-time performance and bus connections while MATA awaits Mayor Jim Strickland’s budget proposal in April.

“Additional funding would negate the need to cut bus service in July 2017,” Garrison said. “Instead, MATA will be able to improve on-time performance and make service more reliable.”

Garrison has been vocal about MATA’s need for increased capital funding, as they have relied on capital dollars to satisfy operational needs. When the new fiscal year begins on July 1st, Garrison said MATA would need an increase of $7 million for the operating budget and $5 million in capital funding.

“Not only are we way underfunded, but we have buses that should have been retired years ago — probably to the tune of about 60 buses,” Garrison said. “Some of them have over 700,000 miles. We had to borrow money from the city twice last year and bridge funding we had to pay back just to make payroll.”

The bus rider’s union’s worries center around route cuts and inadequate shelters at the new transfer locations, Hunter said. One proposal would make the Frayser Plaza Shopping Center a major connection point. Hawkins Mill Route 18, a new feeder route, would replace the north end loop on Crosstown Route 42, which has the second highest ridership, according to Hunter.

“Without increasing service and building adequate shelters at these new transfer locations, folks will be waiting for their transfers out in the elements,” Hunter said. “Those who can only afford a one way pass will be forced to pay twice as much as they normally pay per day or walk the rest of the way.”

MATA touts 9.3 million passenger trips per year and currently operates 109 buses. Justin Workman, a 31-year-old food industry worker, has relied on the bus system since the age of 18. Scheduling a trip across town is often unpredictable, Workman said.

“The routing and scheduling make it nearly impossible to rely on it as a sole means of transportation,” Workman said. “Try to take a bus to Wolfchase Galleria from downtown or Midtown — I hope you have the entire day.”

The bus system could see a few positive changes by the end of year with MATA’s Short Range Transit Plan, which was announced last week. It would streamline routes, add express service, and make the system easier to navigate and understand, and they say those changes can be made without significantly increasing operating costs.

But, overall, MATA’s service will abate or improve based on the city budget when the clock restarts this fiscal year, Hunter said. Solutions, such as having Shelby County chip in, he says, need to be addressed.

“The city has got to look at its budget with compassion for the working class people,” Hunter said. “No amount of police or downtown development will solve the problems we have. We can start by allocating the funds to MATA that it needs to make it through this fiscal year without more cuts. Then we can look at long-term solutions.”

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Music Music Blog

Pezz, Among Others, to Perform at Mid-South Peace and Justice Benefit

Memphis punk veterans Pezz will play alongside an array of prominent local musicians at a Mid-South Peace and Justice Center benefit on Sunday, March 13 from 2 – 5 p.m. at Amurica Photo Studio.

All proceeds will go to continuing MSPJC’s activism as they engage, organize, and mobilize communities to realize social justice through nonviolent action. Me & Leah, Short in the Sleeve, Ryan Azada, The Pocket, HEELS, Jeff Hulett, and Brad Postlethwaite from Snowglobe will also perform.

MSPJC opened on Jan. 15, 1982 — Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday. Founded on the principles of King and Mohandas Gandhi, the Center has since worked internationally and within the Mid-South to spur change through non-violent action. 

A $10 donation will be suggested at the door. A Cash bar will be available and a silent auction will take place during the show.

Watch Pezz’ video for The Wicked Leading The Blind below:

Pezz, Among Others, to Perform at Mid-South Peace and Justice Benefit

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News The Fly-By

Memphis Attracts Millennials

CREDIT: Sam Leathers

Having lived in five other states before landing in Memphis, Jenni Kowal follows one rule: Arrive with few expectations.

“I’ve only been in Memphis for a week, but it feels like years,” Kowal, 24, said. “I came here for the people. I knew from [friends] that Memphis was a great place but also a troubled place. There is a lot of heart here. It is the most diverse place I’ve ever lived in and provides a lot of opportunity to serve the community because there is a greater need here.”

Kowal is among a slew of millennials who are relocating to the Bluff City. Memphis falls only behind Atlanta, Georgia, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as the third-most popular city for millennials to purchase a home in 2016, according to research from Realtor.com. With a median list price of $164,000, affordable housing makes life easier for debt-strapped twenty-somethings.

From Overton Square to the potentially soon-to-be revitalized Mud Island Park, redevelopment has bolstered economic growth in the Mid-South. Sprawling obstacles, however, can’t be overlooked. Almost 30 percent of Memphians lived in poverty in 2014, according to numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau. More than 13 percent of those ages 16 to 24 don’t work or attend school. To boot, the U.S Department of Agriculture defines Memphis as a food desert — only seven of the 77 high-poverty neighborhoods in the city are within reasonable reach of a full-service supermarket.

Those statistics can be improved with elbow grease. Danielle Inez understands this. Through her organization Millennials for Memphis, Inez aims to engage the more than 200,000 millennials living in Memphis. Millennials have surpassed baby boomers as the largest generation. By focusing on government engagement, community development, and economic empowerment, Inez hopes millennials can give the city a makeover over the next five to 10 years.

“I want to see a much more developed network of neighborhoods that also share resources,” Inez said. “Our inner-city neighborhoods — from the Mound to South and North Memphis — all have a degree of attractiveness that is almost hidden from entrepreneurs. I’d like our city to make better use of technology. [We need] more neighborhood hotspots, easier online tools for basic government obligations, more integration, and support for mom-and-pop businesses.”

Committed residents spent decades developing Cooper-Young into a vibrant neighborhood. Likeminded urban planning should go hand-in-hand with millennials buying homes in the city, said University of Memphis social work professor Elena Delavega.

“The problem exists when we create exclusive zones that are prohibitive to the poor and completely push them out of their neighborhoods,” Delavega, the co-director of the Mid-South Family and Community Empowerment Institute, said. “Ideal communities are mixed communities that include a wide range of people of all races and income levels. Economic integration in neighborhoods benefits the poorest people living in communities.”

Sam Leathers

Nate Packard

Millennials face a pivotal opportunity in defining the city’s next step, according to Inez. Nate Packard, a Memphis artist, echoes the sentiment. Memphis is malleable, he said, waiting to be carved.

“New York and Los Angeles are oversaturated with young creatives looking to make a name for themselves,” Packard, 23, said. “Competition is high, but success is much less common. Being in Memphis, a city with a much less competitive nature, lets me focus on my work. It gives me a greater chance to be noticed for that work.”

The Memphis narrative has shifted from self-criticism to pride and hope, said Leslie Gower, the vice president of marketing and communications for the Downtown Memphis Commission. Millennials are capitalizing on the momentum.

“Millennials like to be change agents,” Gower said. “They are looking for ways to advance, connect with, and contribute to their community. Downtowns are magnets for millennials. In five to 10 years, we will see more people working downtown — particularly start-ups, creatives, and entrepreneurs. We’re finally becoming ambassadors of our own city and sharing our story. People outside of Memphis are taking note.”

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Music Music Features

Ken Steorts on Visible Music College’s new Center for Memphis Music

CREDIT: Chris Shaw

Ken Steorts is on a mission from God, so to speak. Steorts founded the Visible Music College in 2000 to create an academic environment where students could marry spiritual and professional growth. Visible celebrated its 15th anniversary last year. The college has launched Madison Line Records, an affiliate label that signs student bands and gets them on the road, and established campuses in Chicago, Dallas, and Germany. Visible will now open four Music Centers to further spur student research and creativity, and recently opened one at Visible’s downtown Memphis location. — Joshua Cannon

Chris Shaw

Visible Music College

Memphis Flyer: What all will the new Center for Memphis Music offer? How will it improve your reach to students?

Ken Steorts: Most young people do not really know the music history of any area, much less a new area they move to for college. Memphis has great history but also great life in the starting up of bands locally today. The Center for Memphis Music will allow scholarships for students to research and remind people about Memphis music of all styles. The Center will help with content and programming for radio and internet and work with Madison Line Records to promote new artists. This work in turn lets other students know about the college and helps in recruiting high-level students to Memphis and retaining them in this area.

I read that the Center will allow “regular scholarly activity around Memphis Music Legacy.” How will it solidify Visible’s commitment to the past, present, and future of Memphis music?

Much of the beauty of Memphis music history is the interaction between various groups in different styles of music and the way that can be a positive factor for the community. Having students spend their internship hours, research papers, and summer work hours on Memphis music topics will help the whole music community.

We’ve done this kind of work off the radar since 2000. We want to name the efforts, focus scholarship dollars and time toward it, and keep our focus on Memphis as our hometown, even as we plant smaller campus locations away from here. Those students can also come into Memphis to study and contribute from other campuses.

How did your relationship with the Mike Curb Institute develop? What opportunities will grow from the partnership?

What Mike Curb has done at Rhodes is a boost to the Memphis music scene. We’ve done projects together, like bringing Rosanne Cash here and exchanging students. Students will get to see other campuses and relate with different levels of professionals, educators, and long-time musicians. They’ll be able to do shows, research, and perform together. We are hopeful to play shows with the Curb Institute and others when there is any opportunity.

How does working with other organizations help Visible College?

We are a very small and young college with little resources. Our main energy is in the people and time to love and nurture music. We love working with other organizations because people meet our students and see the vision for a dedicated Christian music college.

Where will the other centers be located, and will they be any different from this one?

Very different. We are vetting the rollout timeline and purpose for the remainder of the year. The other three will be very diversely focused. Two of them will likely be in other locations than Memphis. That’s why we wanted to lead with the hometown Center for Memphis Music. We have a very diverse student body, and interests range from blues to Christian worship to all styles.

Of all that Visible College has accomplished, what are you most proud of?

I am most proud of the work we do with raising musicians to be successful people with their music and careers — placing them into bands, studios, churches, and teaching. They’re being visible.

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News The Fly-By

Warren Apartments Resident Talks of Black Mold

CREDIT: Joshua Cannon

A Warren Apartments tenant will appeal what she says is a wrongful eviction following an altercation with a property manager that stemmed from a years-long black mold infestation and neglect on behalf of LEDIC Management and the Global Ministries Foundation (GMF).

“I have been dealing with black mold since day one,” said Warren Apartments Tenant Association co-founder Cynthia Crawford, who moved into the complex with her two children in February 2013. “I went to the maintenance office and asked [about it]. They told me to use bleach. Every time I did, it came back. In June of 2015, the previous property manager had a code enforcement retiree inspect the apartment, who said it was black mold.”

Joshua Cannon

Warren Apartments

Crawford’s complaints come as a voice among a chorus of tenants at the Warren and Tulane apartment complexes. Despite GMF spending more than $300,000 on repairs, both complexes failed twice last year to meet the minimum score of 60 required to pass a federal inspection — falling eight points below at 52. Hundreds of residents from the Section 8 housing will now be forced to relocate as the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) cracks down on GMF for failure to maintain livable conditions.

LEDIC did not respond to a request for an update on the relocation. Residents will receive a relocation voucher. HUD officials met with residents last week and said the process would likely begin in March.

GMF is an affordable housing initiative that seeks to provide shelter to low- and moderate-income residents around the United States. GMF CEO Reverend Richard Hamlet proposed a multi-million-dollar rehabilitation program for the two complexes that would use private capital funds. HUD denied the request.

“We’re all on poverty level, but I think we should at least have decent housing,” Crawford said. “We’re not asking for mansions or gold fixtures. We’re just asking for basic, decent housing.”

Three maintenance workers visited Crawford’s unit on Nov. 30th to repair water damage in her bathroom and attend to the mold. Property manager Betsy Waugh entered her apartment around 6:30 p.m., according to Crawford, and asked, “What’s the holdup?” When a senior maintenance attendant told Waugh about the mold, Crawford, unseen in the hallway, allegedly overheard Waugh say, “Don’t say that, just go ahead and cover it up [with sheetrock].”

Waugh, Crawford said, returned an hour later. Waugh allegedly became argumentative and started videotaping Crawford, which led Crawford to “get in [Waugh’s] face and curse her” before asking her to leave the unit. Waugh left and called the police, allegedly claiming Crawford assaulted her, which Crawford says did not occur. A police report was filed, and LEDIC Management issued Crawford a three-day eviction notice on Dec. 2nd. Crawford will appeal the eviction on March 3rd.

The Mid-South Peace and Justice Center (MSPJC) helped the Warren Apartments Tenant Association create a strategy to bridge the gap between management and tenants. The Association has 26 members. Members who have spoken up at Shelby County Commission meetings have been threatened with eviction, says MSPJC executive director Brad Watkins.

“As most tenants do not know their rights, many landlords get over on people all the time for things that the law clearly states are landlord responsibilities,” Watkins said.

Renters often mistakenly make verbal agreements, Watkins says. People don’t fully understand their renter’s rights and other resources available to them.

“We see so many cases where if a person had just known what their rights were they could have avoided being taken advantage of by an unethical landlord,” Watkins said.

MSPJC will attempt to change this through their new renters’ rights project. The immediate goal is to train tenants on how to better understand their rights as renters and form their own associations. Watkins would like to create a Memphis Tenants Union.

“We have allowed slumlords to run amok for so long that now all of our chickens are coming home to roost, and Memphis is on the verge of a crisis in affordable housing,” Watkins said.

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News News Blog

Tennessee Black Caucus Releases Bipartisan Criminal Justice Reform Package

The Tennessee Joint House and Senate Black Caucus have released a bipartisan package for criminal justice reform. Caucus members identified sentencing and rehabilitation, discrimination by law enforcement, and re-entry as three key areas of focus.

State Senator Lee Harris

“This legislative package from the Black Caucus is about changing our criminal justice system to rebuild lives torn apart by crime, drugs, and systemic injustice,” state Rep. Brenda Gilmore said in a statement. 

Among the 11 proposals from the Caucus are legislation to remove the $350 fee required to expunge criminal records, add certain property thefts to the list of offenses that can be expunged, and remove conviction-related questions on job applications for employment with certain job agencies and political subdivisions. Additionally, the legislation would prohibit state employers, under certain circumstances, from asking about an applicant’s criminal record on an initial application.  

“We have too many Tennesseans wasting away in jail for non-violent, minor crimes that involve either drugs or simply an inability to pay fines,” Senate Minority Leader Lee Harris said in a statement. “By and large, these crimes disproportionately affect black Tennesseans. It is an injustice when lives are irreversibly ruined by crimes of substance abuse and crimes of poverty.”

Tennessee’s adult recidivism rate was 46.5 percent in 2009, according to research conducted by a subcabinet for Gov. Bill Haslam in 2012. The subcabinet found that services and resources are hard to access for inmates reentering communities after leaving prison. And, targeted to the right offenders, drug treatment programs can reduce addiction, halt crime, and save state and local communities incarceration costs.

Gov. Haslam’s recently released Public Safety Act of 2016 includes plans to reduce recidivism through drug treatment — as well as develop alternatives to prison sentences for nonviolent offenders wrestling with addiction and mental health issues. 

In an effort to build upon Gov. Haslam’s bill, The Black Caucus wrote a letter to the governor urging his support for various reforms. This includes a rise in expungement values to mirror Haslam’s proposed threshold increase for property theft. The Caucus also proposed that violations of drug-free school zones that occur when schools are not in session for five or more consecutive days are not subject to enhanced and mandatory minimum sentences. 

“Gov. Haslam has put together a well-intentioned legislative package for criminal justice reform, but it’s just a start,” Rep. Gilmore said. “We need a comprehensive program.”

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Music Music Features

Dropkick Murphys at New Daisy

Dropkick Murphys will return to Memphis on February 24th to celebrate the band’s 20th anniversary. The Celtic-punkers formed in Massachusetts in 1996, and, after signing to the independent label Hellcat Records, the band gained recognition after five albums and heavy touring. Dropkick Murphys didn’t enjoy mainstream success until 2004, however, when the band’s single “Tessie” became one of their highest charting songs to date. “I’m Shipping Up to Boston,” a song released on 2005’s The Warrior’s Code, was featured in the Academy Award-winning film The Departed and would become the band’s first and only single to go platinum. Dropkick Murphys have long-been politically active and use their music to raise awareness for charities as well as various issues. Showing support for American labor, the band only sells union-made T-shirts and has close ties to the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations. Additionally, they released a two-song single in 2005 to honor the memory of Andrew K. Farrar Jr., a U.S. Marine Corps sergeant who died in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Dropkick Murphys

In 2007, the band started Born & Bred, an imprint label supported by Alternative Distribution Alliance, and released three albums that landed on Billboard charts. 2007’s The Meanest of Times debuted at No. 20 and 2011’s Going Out in Style caught even more attention at No. 6. Signed and Sealed in Blood, their 8th album, debuted at No. 9 in 2013. Now after 20 years of touring, the band is stopping at the New Daisy as part of a stacked late winter lineup that features Whitey Morgan, Ghastly, Bryson Tyler, and Atreyu all making stops at the Beale Street venue. Tiger Army and Darkbuster will support Dropkick Murphys on all dates.