You may not be able to go out to the bars this year due to coronavirus closures, but you can still celebrate St. Patrick’s Day from home with a virtual concert.
On Tuesday night, the beloved American Celtic punk band Dropkick Murphys will hold a free livestream concert at 7 p.m. fittingly dubbed “Streaming Up From Boston.”
“For the first time in 24 years, we are not playing on St. Patrick’s Day weekend,” Dropkick Murphys said. “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.”
For the first time in 24 years, we’re not playing on St. Patrick’s Day weekend. The current world situation is the ONLY thing that would ever stop us from doing so …
This Tuesday we’re doing a DKM LIVESTREAM CONCERT to EVERYONE – ALL OVER THE WORLD!! https://t.co/6Mmfookm8n pic.twitter.com/UPT46d59Ov
— Dropkick Murphys (@DropkickMurphys) March 15, 2020
Watch the livestream by following the band on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook Live.
The event name is, of course, a take on their hit song “I’m Shipping Up to Boston,” made famous by Martin Scorsese’s gangster flick “The Departed” (2006).
The raucous song combines electric guitar, banjo, accordion and drums to tell the story of a “sailor peg” pirate searching for the wooden leg he lost while climbing the top sails.
The lyrics were inspired by a fragment of paper that band member Ken Casey found while leafing through the archives of iconic folk singer Woody Guthrie.
Formed in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1996, Dropkick Murphys released five albums under the indie punk label Hellcat Records.
Since then, they’ve released four more albums under their own label Born & Bred, courtesy of Alternative Distribution Alliance.
The band was set to perform in Boston as part of their “Boston to Berkeley” tour with Rancid, Gerry Cinnamon and Jesse Ahern. That was until Boston Mayor Marty Walsh declared a public health emergency last Sunday.
Boston has also canceled its annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade, which typically dyes Boston Harbor a festive green.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan similarly closed all bars, restaurants and movie theaters starting at 5 p.m. Monday in an attempt to curb St. Paddy’s Day crowds.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has banned events of 100 people or more.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has limited restaurants to only carryout orders.
New federal guidelines recommend gatherings of only 10 people or less.
The moves follow warnings by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to practice “social distancing” to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
“We hope you and your families are doing well during this trying time,” the band said.
