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Artpark file photo by K&D Action Photo and Aerial Imaging
Artpark file photo by K&D Action Photo and Aerial Imaging

Dropkick Murphys & Rancid to perform at Artpark Aug. 22

Submitted

Tue, Jun 15th 2021 02:15 pm

Part of ‘Coors Light Concerts’ series; Tickets on sale Friday

The Dropkick Murphys & Rancid with special guests The Bronx will perform on the Artpark Amphitheater stage at 6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 22, as part of the “Coors Light Concerts” series presented by Artpark and Funtime.

General admission (standing-room-only tickets cost $47 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, June 18, at the Artpark box office (10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays), 450 S. Fourth St., Lewiston; and online at ticketmaster.com. Prices include a facility fee. And additional fees apply for online orders. Prices increase by $5 on the day of the show.

Dropkick Murphys and Rancid will hit the road together for the first time since 2017, for the co-headlining “Boston To Berkeley II Tour.”

Dropkick Murphys’ Ken Casey said, “Can’t wait to get back out there and kick the touring door open again. This is a great lineup and we are gonna take the country by storm.”

Rancid’s Tim Armstrong said, "Looking forward to hitting the road with the Dropkick Murphys again for the second edition of our ‘Boston To Berkeley Tour.’ Our good buddies The Bronx will be joining us on tour as well. See ya in the pit!"

Rancid and Dropkick Murphys have a long history together. Back in 1997, Rancid’s Lars Frederiksen came across a copy of Dropkick Murphys’ original EP at a friend's house. He turned it over to his bandmate and Hellcat Records president Tim Armstrong, who quickly snatched up the band for his new label.

Emerging from the blue-collar swamps of Berkeley, California, Rancid has now been a living, breathing punk rock band for over a quarter century. Back in 1991, after the demise of their much-beloved first band, Operation Ivy, founding members Armstrong (vocals, guitar) and Matt Freeman (bass, vocals) decided to do the impossible ­– start an even better band. Thus, Rancid.

Signing with Epitaph Records, the band released its first album, “Rancid,” in 1993. Shortly thereafter, Frederiksen (vocals, guitar) joined the band, because … well, are you going to tell him he can’t? The result, in 1994, was “Let’s Go.” In 1995, Rancid released the Platinum-selling “...And Out Come The Wolves.” Rancid followed with the even more ambitious “Life Won’t Wait” in 1998; and in 2000, Rancid released another album, titled “Rancid,” just to see if anyone was paying attention. After “Indestructible” in 2003, Branden Steineckert (drums) joined to solidify Rancid’s current lineup. They subsequently released the albums “Let The Dominos Fall” (2009), “Honor Is All We Know” (2014) and “Trouble Maker” (2017).

Dropkick Murphys proudly remain Boston’s rock ‘n’ roll underdogs turned champions. Since 1996, the boys have created the kind of music that’s meant to be chanted at last call, in packed arenas, and during the fourth quarter, third period, or ninth inning of a comeback rally. Their celebrated discography includes four consecutive Billboard Top 10 album debuts (2021’s “Turn Up That Dial,” “11 Short Stories Of Pain & Glory,” “Signed and Sealed in Blood,” “Going Out In Style”), along with 2005’s Gold-selling “The Warrior’s Code,” featuring the near-double-Platinum classic “I’m Shipping Up To Boston.”

Whether fans caught a legendary gig at The Rathskeller (The Rat) under Kenmore Square, found the band by taking the T to Newbury Comics to cop “Do Or Die” in ’98, discovered them in Martin Scorsese’s Academy Award-winning “The Departed,” or saw ‘em throw down at Coachella (or one of hundreds of other festivals), they’ve become a part of their extended family. Dropkick Murphys’ music has generated half-a-billion streams, with the band quietly moving 8 million-plus units worldwide and selling out gigs on multiple continents.

In 2020, the band was one of the first to embrace streaming performances, starting with the “Streaming Up From Boston St. Patrick’s Day” virtual performance. It was followed by last year’s landmark “Streaming Outta Fenway” livestream, which drew more than 5.9 million viewers and held the No. 3 spot on Pollstar’s Top 2020 livestreams chart. Dropkick Murphys’ “St. Patrick’s Day Stream 2021...Still Locked Down,” was No. 1 on Pollstar’s livestream chart for the week ending March 22, logging over 1 million views.

Dropkick Murphys is: Al Barr (lead vocals), Tim Brennan (guitars, accordion, mellotron, whistles, vocals), Casey (lead vocals, bass guitar), Jeff DaRosa (banjo, bouzouki, mandolin, harmonica, acoustic guitars, vocals), Matt Kelly (drums, percussion, vocals), James Lynch (guitar, vocals), Kevin Rheault (touring bassist) and Lee Forshner (touring bagpipe player).

A press release stated, “Artpark is committed to keeping all visitors, employees and artists safe and continues to work closely with New York state officials to revise and implement health and safety protocols. At this time, all activities are subject to New York state COVID-19 guidelines. For details, please visit here. As official local health guidelines evolve regarding COVID-19 safety protocols, Artpark may shift seating configurations and increase capacity.”

The 2021 Artpark concert season is supported by: Coors Light; Miller Lite; Wright Beverage Distributing; and New York State Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation.

Visit artpark.net for more information.

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