DROPKICK MURPHYS and RANCID will hit the road together for the first time since 2017 for the co-headlining “Boston To Berkeley II” tour with special guests THE BRONX on most dates. The U.S. trek — which was originally scheduled for May of 2020 — runs from August 10 to October 16 and will also feature festival appearances by DROPKICK MURPHYS and RANCID at Riot Fest in Chicago on September 18 and Aftershock in Sacramento on October 8.
Tickets for the “Boston To Berkeley II” tour go on sale Friday, June 18 at 10:00 a.m. local time in most markets. The final band of the night will vary by date, with either DROPKICK MURPHYS or RANCID as the closing act.
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!”
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 and DROPKICK MURPHYS have a long and important 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 Tim 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 their first album, “Rancid”, in 1993. Shortly thereafter, Lars 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 classic platinum-selling “…And Out Come The Wolves”. They 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) and “Honor Is All We Know” (2014). And out now is another immediate classic “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 you 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), you’ve become a part of their extended family. DROPKICK MURPHYS‘ music has generated half a billion streams, they’ve quietly moved eight million-plus units worldwide and the band has sold out gigs on multiple continents. In 2020, the band was one of the first to embrace streaming performances, starting with their “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, 2021, logging over one million views.
DROPKICK MURPHYS is: Al Barr (lead vocals), Tim Brennan (guitars, accordion, mellotron, whistles, vocals), Ken 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).
“Boston To Berkeley II” tour dates:
Aug. 10 – Waite Park, MN @ The Ledge Amphitheater
Aug. 11 – Kansas City, MO @ Grinders
Aug. 13 – Lincoln, NE @ Lincoln on the Streets
Aug. 14 – Wichita, KS @ Wave
Aug. 15 – Sauget, IL @ Pop’s Outside
Aug. 17 – Washington, PA @ Wild Things Park
Aug. 18 – Cincinnati, OH @ Smale Park
Aug. 20 – Gilford, NH @ Bank of N.H. Pavilion
Aug. 21 – Worcester, MA @ The Palladium Outdoors
Aug. 22 – Lewiston, NY @ Artpark Amphitheater
Aug. 23 – Columbus, OH @ Express Live
Aug. 25 – Richmond, VA @ Virginia Credit Union Live
Aug. 27 – Asbury Park, NJ @ Stone Pony
Aug. 28 – New York, NY @ Forest Hills Stadium
Aug. 31 – Philadelphia, PA @ Mann Music Center
Sep. 01 – Bridgeport, CT @ Hartford H.C. Amphitheater
Sep. 18 – Chicago, IL @ Riot Fest *
Sep. 24 – Nashville, TN @ Ascend Amphitheater +
Sep. 25 – Atlanta, GA @ Atlanta Civic Center +
Sep. 27 – Corpus Christi, TX @ Concrete Street
Sep. 28 – Grand Prairie, TX @ Texas Trust Theatre
Sep. 29 – Oklahoma City, OK @ The Zoo
Oct. 01 – Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom Outdoors
Oct. 02 – Sandy, UT @ U of U Health Plaza
Oct. 04 – Nampa, IN @ Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater
Oct. 05 – Seattle, WA @ WAMU Theater
Oct. 07 – Palo Alto, CA @ Frost Amphitheater
Oct. 08 – Sacramento, CA @ Aftershock *
Oct. 09 – Santa Ana, CA @ Observatory OC Festival Grounds
Oct. 10 – San Diego, CA @ Petco Park San Diego
Oct. 12 – Mesa, AZ @ Mesa Amphitheatre
Oct. 13 – Paso Robles, CA @ Vina Robles
Oct. 15 – Las Vegas, NV @ Virgin Hotels Theater
Oct. 16 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Shrine
* Festival date
+ without THE BRONX (opener to be announced)
