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.
