In 2003, we provided coverage of the Dropkick Murphy’s St. Patrick’s Day shows at the Avalon Ballroom in Boston, and now in 2022, with what is become a full-blown US tour, it is still one of our most anticipated events to cover for the year. The passion of their hometown fanbase has extended across the globe, and each one of their rowdy show makes you feel just like you’re in the heart of Boston.
This year the guys kicked off their tour on February 21 in reading Pennsylvania, and on February 25, they brought the tour to the Fillmore in Detroit, Michigan. Unfortunately, this year singer Al Barr is not going to be joining the band on the tour due to his mother’s health. In a statement, the band said the following:
Dropkick Murphys have always been about FAMILY, and in the spirit of FAMILY FIRST. Al has had to make the very difficult decision to stay home for the rest of the year to care for his Mom. We appreciate your compassion for Al’s family. We know as part of our family you will understand and support us in dealing with these difficult times.
This means that Ken Casey has taken on all vocal duties ( being joined with a couple of songs by their support acts, The Rumjacks, and The Bomb Pops.) Of course, we all know that Ken has the energy to play a massive set and kills it from start to finish. The show opens up with the pipes and ‘Cadence To Arms,’ Which has been one of the staple openers for the band since their beloved debut release, “Do or Die.” Funny enough, the band actually went right into the title track of that album after wrapping up the short opener.
The setlist contained a few of the tracks off their latest album ‘Turn up that Dial” which we should point out; that album was also one of Folk N Rocks picks for “best albums of 2021.” And from then on, there was a plethora year of fan favorites. The Warrior’s Code, Johnny I Hardly Knew ya, Going out in Style, Rosse Tattoo, and of course the encores, Good as Gold, and Shipping up to Boston. In total, the guys played a massive 26-song set, and the audience loved every second of it from start to finish with their stomping and endless crowd surfing.
Every single Murphy show is something special, and after decades there’s still one of the top life bands you will ever get to see. But there’s always something extra special about their St. Patrick’s Day tour. The guys are still in on the first half of the tour , with plenty of more dates to come, including their wrap-up shows starting on St. Patrick’s Day, and going on for the 18th, 19th, and 20th in Boston.
