Ken Casey
For Bostonians, St. Patrick’s Day has always meant a great deal, but this year is even more special as it is the first year since 2019 that the city can celebrate. When the shutdowns and the lockdowns came in 2020, the first big event to get canceled was St. Patrick’s Day. To celebrate the return of this major Boston holiday, the Greg Hill Foundation has teamed up with the Dropkick Murphys and their charity, The Claddagh Fund, for something extraordinary this weekend.
Join the band this weekend as they host the 1st annual “Southie Social” at Loco during the St. Patrick’s Day parade on March 20th from 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM. The event will offer guests an exclusive performance from the Dropkick Murphys, plenty of food and hopefully plenty of fun. It will also benefit both The Greg Hill Foundation and The Claddagh Fund.
Before heading to the party this weekend, we spoke with Ken Casey, Co-Founder the Dropkick Murphys and Founder of The Claddagh Fund on St. Patrick’s Day, the Southie Social and his return to touring.
How do you feel about St. Patrick’s Day returning to normal this year?
It's great to be back. We've missed playing live. We just finished our first real tour in the last few years. It’s so exciting to be back. We're looking forward to the event with Greg on Sunday. We're always excited to be a part of something for charity.
Are you excited to be back at the House of Blues for St. Patrick’s Day weekend?
We'll be playing live at the House of Blues, but we'll also be live streaming the St. Patrick’s Day performance on the Dropkick Murphy's YouTube page. So, it'll be nice for the people watching at home and in other parts of the world to be able to see us play our hometown in front of a live audience. And then we have the show Sunday at the brand-new Roadrunner venue. It’s always exciting to play somewhere that is brand new. We will be playing there right after the Southie Social on Sunday. A lot to look forward to this weekend.
Tell me more about The Claddagh Fund.
The Claddagh Fund launched in 2009 as the band's official charity. We support a range of causes including children and veterans’ issues, but we mostly focus on supporting those who suffer from addiction and substance abuse. People need that support; it's not easy, and it's not cheap. So, we work hard to raise that money. While on tour we do things like auctioning off signed guitars and posters as well as offer meet and greets. It’s been a great way to raise money for the Claddagh Fund.
The Dropkick Murphys are headed to Europe this summer, how do you feel about touring internationally again?
It's been a long time since we've been to Europe, and Europe is really our biggest market. So, it will be nice to get back over and do the festivals. We're going for two months, which is a long tour for us. Usually, we don’t like to leave for that long, but we’re trying to make up for lost time.
Anything else you are excited about right now?
Just good to be back home. We've been away for the last month on tour; it’s been amazing seeing all the good people that have supported us over the years. But we are excited to be back in Boston for St. Patrick’s Day and to raise some money for our charities on Sunday.
Photography by: Courtesy of Dropkick Murphys
