For the Texans In the Pit! Dropkick Murphys Sell Out ACL Live

Dropkick Murphys is a name that holds power, one built on the backs of reputation, hard work, and solid ethos. While waiting in line at ACL Live this past Thursday — breaths held strong for the signal to race past security and make it to the barricade — several passerbyers asked the mohawked, battle-jacket clad attendees :

“hey what’s going on here?”
“There’s a show here tonight?”
“Who’s playing?”
“Dropkick Murphys”
“Oh, cool!”

Your average passerbyer probably can’t name a single DKM song, but by name alone the American mind already has visions of gritty vocals, bagpipes, power chords, and banjo leads – and that’s the strength of the Dropkick Murphys. Celebrating 30 years of being a band, the Boston bosses of celtic punk took an extended Saint Patrick’s Day Tour all over North America. ZRockR Magazine was lucky enough to be invited to their stop inside of the Texas Capital itself and join the birthday celebration — and we’re here to take you back into it.

Dropkick aren’t the kinds of guys to throw a party without bringing the best of friends along with them, starting the night with some old school hardcore punk rock music. California’s finest up-and-coming anti-fascist punk band, Slugger, was a surprise addition to the lineup that most didn’t even know were on the bill until they saw the set times. Slugger was raw, angry, and sounded like a baseball bat straight to the jaw. Melodic when it needed to be, hard as nails when it wanted to be, their sound may be nostalgic, but their energy and attitudes are fresh from the spirit of punk rock. Songs like “New Generation”, “Dead State”, “Politician”, and “Humboldt Avenue” warmed the audience up quite nicely.

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Next on the bill was Haywire 617, a beloved darling band for anyone who’s been active in the hardcore scene for the past couple years. For a band with only two years of life behind them, they’ve done incredible things, going as far as touring Europe last year, coheadlining some impressive hardcore festivals, and just generally being an explosive breath of fresh air on the scene. Like Dropkick, Haywire 617 is from Boston, so it makes sense that Dropkick took the little rockers under their wing and have done so much with them. Not only is Haywire opening this tour for Dropkick, but they also toured together for a good portion of 2025. The most recent collaborative effort being the split EP that has yet to be released on streaming, and is currently only available to listen to on a limited vinyl that’s being sold on this very tour… just another reason to show up to one of these dates!

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The Aggrolites were a softer turn of events, a reggae band that invited the audience to dance, groove, and boogey, rather than open pits and mosh the night away. Certainly one of the most unique and exciting bands that’s touring today. They haven’t put out new music since 2019, but when they do next, make an effort to listen to it. The kind of energy that they output as a group is inspiring, joyful, and honestly the most fun set one could ask for. There’s nothing wrong with genre-fluid lineups, especially when they’re this good. Being longtime friends of Dropkick, it’s only appropriate that this team joined the celebrations.

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And then the titans of celtic-punk, the big name of Boston themselves, the granddaddies of bagpipe boxing music – Dropkick Murphys themselves took to the stage. As always, they walked out to a recorded track of the Foggy Dew by The Chieftains and Sinéad O’Connor, something they’ve always done all these thirty years. And then it was straight into “The Boys Are Back”. Honestly, it may be the greatest possible pick for an opening track. Oh, and trust us, the boys are BACK. The kind of absolute control that Ken Casey had over the stage, the mic, and the crowd is outstanding to witness. Immediately after finishing the opening song Ken called out “Calling all able bodied humans to the pit!” And let us just say, that hearing Jeff DeRosa pluck the opening riff to “The State of Massachusetts” after that mosh call was one of the most powerful things that ZRockR has seen in Texas in the past few years. Absolute chills. The rest of
the set was incredible, a mixture of old songs, new songs, deep cuts, and fan favorites. I mean, just look at this set list:

1. The Boys Are Back
2. The State of Massachusetts
3. The Gang’s All Here
4. Deeds Not Words
5. Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ya
6. Gonna Be a Blackout Tonight
7. The Dirty Glass (tour debut)
8. PCaps and Bottles
9. Boys on the Docks
10. Never Alone
11. In the Streets of Boston (tour debut)
12. Who’ll Stand With Us?
13. Chesterfields & Aftershave
14. Finnegan’s Wake
15. The Green Fields of France (Eric Bogle Cover)
16. Barroom Hero
17. Citizen I.C.E. (featuring Haywire)
18. Men Behind the Wire (tour debut)
19. Out of Our Heads
20. Rose Tattoo
21. Worker’s Song
22. I’m Shipping Up to Boston
23. The Big Man

An absolutely packed set for totally sold out show right in the heart of Texas. What a night it was indeed.
Hey! You! Check out the rest of the tour dates down below, and if you see a stop near your city, get over there ASAP. This is not a show you want to miss!

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FEB 25 TULSA, OK / CAIN’S BALLROOM
FEB 26 OMAHA, NE / THE ADMIRAL
FEB 27 DES MOINES, IA / VAL AIR BALLROOM
MARCH 1 DENVER, CO / MISSION BALLROOM
MARCH 3 CHICAGO, IL / SALT SHED
MARCH 5 EAST MOLINE, IL / RUST BELT
MARCH 6 ST. PAUL, MN / PALACE THEATER = SOLD OUT!
MARCH 7 MILWAUKEE, WI PANTHER ARENA (ADMIRALS POST-GAME)
MARCH 8 LOUISVILLE, KY / OLD FORESTER’S PARISTOWN HALL
MARCH 10 NORFOLK, VA / NORVA
MARCH 11 SPRINGFIELD, MA / MASS MUTUAL CENTER (THUNDERBIRDS
POST-GAME)
MARCH 13 BOSTON, MA / MGM MUSIC HALL
MARCH 14 BOSTON, MA / MGM MUSIC HALL
MARCH 15 BOSTON, MA / MGM MUSIC HALL
MARCH 17 BOSTON, MA / HOB

PHOTO CREDIT: Live photos by Liam Tennant for ZRockR Magazine – © 2026 – All Rights Reserved. 

***EDITOR’s NOTE: Dropkick Murphys have announced they will play a free show at 4pm on March 6th at the Alex Pretti Memorial – Black Forest Inn parking lot – 26th and Nicollet Avenue – Minneapolis and ask people to come out to “Help us support the warriors who’ve stepped up to protect our neighbors and our democracy !!” More info on DKM’s Facebook page here if you want to attend: DROPKICK MURPHYS FACEBOOK ***