Dropkick Murphys To Livestream St. Patrick's Day Concert Amid Coronavirus Shutdown

With most of the American economy and virtually all of the entertainment industry screeching to a [...]

By Russ Burlingame

With most of the American economy and virtually all of the entertainment industry screeching to a halt as the COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic worsens in the U.S., celtic punk band Dropkick Murphys have announced that they will help Americans celebrate St. Patrick's Day by livestreaming a concert tonight. Beginning at 7 p.m. ET (local time in Boston, where the band is), the concert will air free on the band's website and social media accounts. The band, who have performed on St. Patrick's Day every year for more than two decades, have also provided fans with a pre-show playlist to check out.

This isn't the first time fans will remember the band pivoting quickly to make sure the show goes on: in 2019, the band played a free stage at the New York State Fair after Dickey Betts, the originally-scheduled performer, had to cancel due to a stroke. Hours later, the band was shipping up to Central New York to fill the vacancy.

"For the first time in 24 years, we are not playing on St. Patrick's Day weekend," the band wrote to fans on Saturday night. "The current world situation is the ONLY thing that would ever stop us from doing so. So we came up with an idea we're going to pull off this Tuesday -- the night of St. Patrick's Day... We're going to bring a DKM livestream concert to everyone -- all over the world!!"

Dropkick Murphys, best known for songs like "Tessie" and "The State of Massachusetts," came together in 1996 and rose to mainstream prominence in 2004. Their 2013 album "Signed and Sealed in Blood" featured "Rose Tattoo," a song recorded to benefit victims of the Boston Marathon bombing and featuring Bruce Springsteen; "The Season's Upon Us," a Christmas song that became one of the band's top-charting hits; and "Prisoner's Song," which was used in the season 8 trailer for AMC's The Walking Dead.

The band are the latest group of artists to perform for free in order to keep spirits up during the quarantine. A viral video showed musicians in Italy playing from their balconies and homes into the quiet neighborhood around them, and that inspired stand-up comedian Patton Oswalt to follow suit with a stand-up routine.

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