While the lineup of Massachusetts-bred Celtic punk band the Dropkick Murphys may have changed over their now 30-year-long history, plenty about them has stayed the same.
They’re proudly from Boston; they’re proud of their Irish influences; they speak (and sing) on behalf of working people everywhere; and they will rock your face off.
All of those elements were in clear evidence Thursday night at their show at Stage AE on the North Shore. A sold-out crowd packed the venue’s indoor space practically to the doors, making room for the prodigious mosh pit that swirled like an engine fueling the room’s energy.
Fans showed up early too, giving a warm Pittsburgh welcome to a slate of opening acts that included Slugger, Haywire and the Aggrolites. Each act gave a different vibe to the evening, priming an already excited audience for the headliners to take the stage at a little after 9 p.m.
In their three decades of music-making, the Dropkick Murphys’ lone constant has been lead singer Ken Casey, whose gravelly shout-growl is distinctive and fitting for their music’s grit and power. They’ve released 13 studio albums but are still most well known for their raucous platinum-selling single “I’m Shipping Up to Boston,” which was used to great effect in the 2006 Martin Scrosese film “The Departed.”
Casey has also made recent headlines for speaking out on the current state of American politics — opinions that he didn’t shy away from at Thursday night’s show. Before playing one of the band’s hard-hitting odes to the crusade of the everyman (“Who’ll Stand With Us?”), Casey spoke about his politics: “As some of you may have noticed, we’ve always been about the same thing, we’ve always been about real music for real people, speaking on behalf of working people.”
The two-dozen-song set covered the breadth of their catalogue, from speedy, thrashing songs to ballads. They kicked into the show with “Deeds Not Words,” a satisfying opener with a booming sing-along chorus that got people moving (and crowd-surfing) immediately.
It didn’t take long for the Celtic part of Celtic punk to push its way to the forefront. The second song on the setlist was one of their most popular tunes, “The State of Massachusetts,” a vibrant jig of a song with a tragic story in the shouted lyrics.
Casey was happy to bounce and gsticulate over the stage, singing and bellowing with his whole body as the crowd shouted the lyrics back to him.
“Caps and Bottles” went all the way back to 1996, and the flow of heat from the guitars, accordion and Casey’s vocal cords didn’t let up through a fiery series of songs, from “The Boys are Back” to the traditional-sounding “Johnny We Hardly Knew Ya,” underscored by piping tin whistle from the multi-talented Tim Brennan.
“Standing on this stage, we’ve had a lot of things to say about the athletes of Pittsburgh and the teams of Pittsburgh, but the people of Pittsburgh will never let you down,” Casey said from the stage in his truly spectacular Boston accent.
“Barroom Hero” was a huge highlight, bringing the crowd to a new decibel level with rapid-fire “hey hey hey”s through the verses. They followed it up with “Boys on the Docks,” an anthem from their 1998 album “Do or Die” about working class solidarity with a clapping beat and passionate delivery, plus an arm-aching performance from drummer Matt Kelly.
After so many explosive songs, the plaintive and mournful ballad “The Green Fields of France” came as a surprise, but not an unplasant one. Backed by piano, Casey sang of a 19-year-old Irish soldier who died in World War I in France. Casey showed that the sandpaper in his voice could also work to portray genuine emotion, and fans around me — apparently strangers — put arms around each other and swayed to sing along once they realized that they both knew all the words.
Another emotional turn was “A Hero Among Many,” a song for a man who saved more than 20 people after the 9/11 terrorist attack on he World Trade Center. Under red stage lights, Casey spoke-sang about the man’s bravery.
Casey brought the lead singer of Haywire back to the stage to help him perform the recently released single “Citizen I.C.E.,” a protest song that evoked old-school political punk songs and got a shockingly high percentage of the audience singing along.
They also played their popular song “Rose Tattoo” before leaving the stage for a brief encore break; their time offstage was only long enough for the “Cheers” theme song to play before their return.
But everyone knew what was coming as the twirling opening notes of “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” began. Casey was completely drowned out by the crowd as he sang, and the music didn’t quite reach the rocking heights I was expecting, holding back on the blare of the guitar. It was another excellent song for Kelly on the drums.
The band put a bow on a rocking evening with a song from their 2025 album “For the People.” “The Big Man” pulled together the band’s ethos, giving voice to the working people and rebelling against the “Big Man” with the pure power of voices, clapping hands and instruments.
The Dropkick Murphys, above all else, are known for the punch and fire of their live shows, and that is yet another aspect of their reputation that proved true on Thursday night.