A political protest in Boston will feature a musical performance by one the most popular bands to come from the area.
The Dropkick Murphys will perform an acoustic set at Boston’s “Hands Off” protest on Saturday, April 5.
The protest, organized by Mass 50501, will be against the Trump administration and billionaire Elon Musk.
“The federal administration thinks this country belongs to them — and that they’re above the law,” the event description for “Hands Off” reads.
“They’re taking everything they can get their hands on — our rights, our health care, our data, our jobs, our services — and daring the world to stop them,“ it reads. ”But as Mayor Wu put it — two weeks after standing up for Boston’s immigrants in Congress and one week after Boston became a sanctuary city for the LGBTQ+ community — “No one tells Boston how to take care of our own, not kings, and not presidents who think they are kings… God save whoever messes with Boston.”
“Hands Off” is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Parkman Bandstand on Boston Common. The event will include a march to City Hall and remarks from several keynote speakers.
The Dropkick Murphys have historically been heavily involved in politics, with lead singer Ken Casey publicly criticizing Donald Trump in recent years.
Last month, Casey paused during one of Dropkick Murphys’ annual St. Patrick’s Day shows at MGM Music Hall in Boston to call out an attendee holding up a white MAGA hat. The band played three shows at the venue from March 14-16.
“If you’re in a room full of people and you want to know who’s in a cult, how do you know who’s in a cult?” Casey asked the crowd, according to a video posted to Dropkick Murphys’ Instagram.
“They’ve been holding up a (expletive) hat the whole night to represent a president,” Casey said. “This is America, there’s no kings here.”
Casey said in an interview with Mediastouch following the incident that the fan had been holding the hat up all night and was putting it in people’s faces. That’s why he decided to call them out.
“He was looking for the attention,” Casey said.
The singer added that he isn’t typically looking to turn a show “into a political rally,” but simply wants to find something to comment on before playing the next song.
That said, Casey does feel inclined to “call out the hypocrisy” when he sees it, especially “if it’s being put in my face at a show.”
Citing the band’s long history of being “pro-working class band,” Casey said in the interview that the Dropkick Murphys’ music has always had this message of “standing with your friends and family and the things you believe in, whether it’s politics, or just how you were raised.”
“Donald Trump is the exact opposite of everything we sing about,” Casey said in the interview. “He’s turned on his friends. He’s turned on America’s friends and our allies. He’s a rat and a coward when you think of it that way. America shouldn’t be turning on our allies.”
Casey also called out a man for wearing a shirt and hat supporting Trump at a concert in Clearwater, Florida, in February, according to Billboard. Casey mentioned that Dropkick Murphys’ merch is all made in America before making a “friendly” $100 bet about where the MAGA gear was manufactured.
“If you lose the bet, we switch shirts, OK? If you win the bet, I give you $100 and the shirt,” the singer told the man before revealing to fans that the MAGA shirt was made in Nicaragua.
“He’s taking the shirt off. We’re taking crime off the streets,” Casey joked, according to Billboard.
