DROPKICK MURPHYS SET TO EMBARK ON “ALL ROADS LEAD TO BOSTON TOUR 2009”

DATE:       JANUARY 14, 2009

FROM:      KRISTINE ASHTON-MAGNUSON/LIBBY COFFEY-HENRY/CHELSI SCHRIVER

DROPKICK MURPHYS

SET TO EMBARK ON “ALL ROADS LEAD TO BOSTON TOUR 2009”

WITH SPECIAL GUESTS H20 AND CIVET;

DATES BEGIN FEBRUARY 20 IN LOS ANGELES AND WRAP

WITH SEVEN BOSTON SHOWS ST. PATRICK’S DAY WEEK

DROPKICK MURPHYS will embark on their “All Roads Lead To Boston Tour 2009” next month with dates beginning February 20 in Los Angeles and wrapping St. Patrick’s Day (March 17) in Boston. The annual trek includes seven hometown shows at Boston’s new House Of Blues, built on the site of the former Avalon Ballroom.  The five previously announced Boston shows have sold out and the band has just added two additional dates: March 12 and 16.  Tickets for these new Boston gigs go on sale Saturday, January 17 at 10:00 AM Eastern.  Support acts on all dates–except the special Boston shows–will be H20 and Civet.  Opening acts for the always sold-out Boston gigs will be announced in the coming weeks.

Prior to these dates, DROPKICK MURPHYS–KEN CASEY (vocals, bass guitar), AL BARR (vocals), MATT KELLY (drums, backing vocals), JAMES LYNCH (guitar, backing vocals), TIM BRENNAN (guitar, accordion, piano, backing vocals), JEFF DaROSA (mandolin, accordion, banjo, bouzouki, tin whistle, acoustic guitar) and SCRUFFY WALLACE (bagpipes)–will head to Australia and New Zealand for the Big Day Out shows and headlining gigs in Sydney and Melbourne.  DROPKICK MURPHYS’ current CD THE MEANEST OF TIMES (Born & Bred Records/ILG) entered the Billboard Top 200 at #20 when it was released in September 2007 and has since sold over 300,000 copies worldwide.  The group continues to receive accolades for the CD and their live show as indicated below:

“These seven Massachusetts guys know how to make even dire moments sound like a hot party. On their sixth album, fiddle, mandolin and other Gaelic accouterments adorn rave-ups like ‘The State of Massachusetts,’ reminding you they’re a punk band with a Celtic twist. They’re also songwriters–and good ones, too, preserving their party-boy reputation while turning out giant, soulful choruses on songs both manicured and memorable: Dig tunefully sotted jams like ‘Tomorrow’s Industry’…”

       –Christian Hoard, Rolling Stone, September 20, 2007

“…one of the greatest live bands on the planet.”

       –Terry Bezer, Kerrang!, March 8, 2008

“…not inaccurately described as the Pogues on steroids, has now developed into one of the country's best blue-collar bands, one that can mourn the loss of fallen soldiers and empathize with the plight of downtrodden union workers with the same exuberance they bring to drinking songs like ‘The Dirty Glass’…or a chunky cover of Thin Lizzy's ‘Jailbreak.’ Through it all, no matter how aggressive the music gets or how vociferously frontman Al Barr growls, the Murphys maintain a thick-skinned optimism: ‘Take another ride on the sunshine highway,’ they sing, ‘take another ride, try to turn it around.’"    

       –Ben Wener, Orange County Register, July 21, 2008

“…Dropkicks' shows have always been about: community, communion, and a shared spirit (not to mention, shared spirits). And, of course, a mutual love of full-throttle punk mixed in with the bouzoukis and bagpipes.”

            –Jonathan Perry, Boston Globe, July 11, 2008

“As the unofficial music ambassadors of Boston, there's never any reason to think a hometown show by the Dropkick Murphys will be anything short of stellar, and their set at LeLacheur Park proved to be no exception…when this group of musicians plays it seems as though crowds erupt into a blissfully chaotic state, an occurrence as inevitable as gravity keeping the Earth in a constant revolution around the sun.”

            –Andrew Bruss, Jambase.com, July 15, 2008

“…Dropkick enthused a sold-out crowd with all the energy and stamina of kids playing those basement rock shows we loved so much when we were 15.”

            —Daily Nebraskan, July 21, 2008

“Dropkick Murphys combines fist-pumping, boot-stomping rock and roll with intense lyrics about the Department of Social Services, losing friends, and getting in trouble as a kid.”     

–Gary Schwind, Examiner.com (#5 Album of 2008), December 24, 2008

In other news, DKM bassist/vocalist KEN CASEY recently joined forces with film producer and baseball historian Peter Nash to officially re-establish and re-open McGreevy’s 3rd Base Saloon–“America’s First Sports Bar and Baseball Museum”–in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood.  The bar and restaurant is a replica of the 1894 saloon owned by “Nuf Ced” McGreevy.  By the turn of the century, the original McGreevy’s was the place to be for ballplayers, politicians, gamblers, Tin-Pan Alley stars and die-hard Red Sox fans known as the “Royal Rooters.” “Nuf Ced” was “King of the Rooters,” and “3rd Base” was the center of the sporting and political worlds. It was America’s first baseball museum, with every inch of wall space decorated with historic pictures from Nuf Ced’s own collection and memorabilia he got from friends like Cy Young.

About DROPKICK MURPHYS: 

Known for their complex distillation of classic punk rock, Celtic folk and American rock 'n roll, critically-acclaimed DROPKICK MURPHYS have released 10 full-length CDs and sold over 3 million copies worldwide.  2007’s The Meanest Of Times marked the band’s highest Billboard Top 200 chart debut ever (#20) and is their fastest selling record to date with over 300,000 copies sold worldwide.  The Meanest Of Times was #40 on Rolling Stone's Top 50 Albums Of The Year and "The State Of Massachusetts" came in at #83 on their Top 100 Singles of the year.  The group’s single "I'm Shipping Up To Boston”–from 2005’s The Warrior’s Code CD which has sold over 250,000 copies–was certified gold by the RIAA with sales of over 500,000 copies.  “I’m Shipping Up To Boston” gained mainstream notoriety after being prominently featured in Martin Scorsese's film The Departed.  It can be commonly heard as a theme song for many sports teams (even outside of Boston), was featured on an episode of “The Simpsons” and was the title track for the Discovery Channel series “Lobster Wars” in 2007. 

DROPKICK MURPHYS’ current tour dates are below.  Go to www.dropkickmurphys.com for updates.

Press Contacts:

MSO

(818) 380-0400

Kristine Ashton-Magnuson            kashton@msopr.com       ext. 233

Libby Coffey Henry                  lhenry@msopr.com        ext. 224

Chelsi Schriver (Tour Press)        cschriver@msopr.com     ext. 231

ILG

(212) 707-3086

Andrew Steinthal              Andrew.Steinthal@wmg.com

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