ALBANY — The Irish have a rich history in this region (see also Uncle Dan, William Kennedy and the Erie Canal), so it’s only fitting to see the Dropkick Murphys announced as the Albany Capital Center’s first concert.
Those rowdy punk rockers out of Boston was announced as the headlining act for Sunday, Feb. 25, along with Agnostic Front and Bim Skala Bim. It will mark the band’s second show of its upcoming “St. Patrick’s Day Tour 2018.”
The tour kicks off on Saturday, Feb. 24 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. and culminates with the band’s annual hometown run of Boston shows St. Patrick’s Day Week. Tickets for all shows go on sale Friday, Dec. 8, at www.DropkickMurphys.com, starting at 10:00 a.m.
With subjects steeped in Celtic pride like “The Wild Rover,” “Spicy McHaggis Jig” and “The Fighting 69th,” the Dropkick Murphys have amassed a catalog of songs that pay homage to their Irish heritage. Baseball fans of the Boston Red Sox attribute the band’s “Tessie” for helping lift the curse of the Bambino that brought the World Series Championship trophy to Bean Town. Fans of Martin Scorsese’s Academy Award-winning film “The Departed,” will recall “I’m Shipping Off to Boston,” too.
Agnostic Front place in the punk rock scene has been solid the Reagan administration. The band was first assembled in 1980, and immediately defined the scene in New York City. The band’s association with Dropkick Murphys dates back to 1999, when the two bands split an album release under the name “Unity.”
The Albany Capital Center provides state of the art convention, ballroom, and meeting space with on-site parking and direct connections to the Empire State Plaza Convention Center, The Egg Performing Arts Center, and the Times Union Center arena via an enclosed walkway. Together, these spaces create the Capital Complex, the largest meeting space in upstate New York at more than 159,000 square feet.
Banner photo credit: Dropkick Murphys / Instagram
